Skip to main content

Emissions disagreement

Criticisms have been made in Europe over the policy aimed at cutting the EU's transport emissions by 60% by 2050.
February 28, 2012 Read time: 1 min
Criticisms have been made in Europe over the policy aimed at cutting the EU's transport emissions by 60% by 2050. This policy has been revealed as being somewhat optimistic by a majority of Europe's transport ministers. The EU's 27 transport ministers have said that the 2465 European Commission's proposals to cut transport emissions by 60% in 2050 compared to levels recorded in 1990 should not affect commercial competition with either Asia or North America. The issue is a contentious one. While Europe's politicians see the need to reduce the impact on the environment by the transport sector, they have recognised that this could deal a blow to Europe's economic interests. A move away from reliance on fossil fuels is seen as key to a reduction in transport emissions. However, with no single technology yet proving sufficiently robust to provide an assured long term solution, the 60% reduction in transport emissions by 2050 will have to be regarded as a desirable aim rather than a set target.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Infrastructure spending aids economic growth
    February 21, 2012
    AT THE TIME of year it is worth considering how strong the construction market will be towards the end of 2010 and on into 2011. The build-up to the Bauma construction equipment exhibition in Munich, the world's largest exhibition, has helped fuel new product introductions from manufacturers, attracted contractors to visit the event and brought healthy interest to the construction sector as a whole.
  • Show me the money at Australian Summit
    September 4, 2012
    The question of how to finance and fund major road infrastructure projects in Australia – including the potential role of user-pays charging as a funding solution – was top of mind at the recent Roads Australia National Summit in Sydney. The two-day summit, organised by peak national body Roads Australia, is the largest and most influential annual gathering of industry decision-makers in the country. This year’s summit was held against a backdrop of concern over the future of a raft of major road projects t
  • European progress on road deaths is 'disappointing', says ETSC
    June 18, 2020
    Safety body suggests that the EU will miss target of halving fatalities by 2020
  • Road user charging proposed for Denmark
    February 15, 2013
    The joint proposal by 3F, the Danish trade union for the transport sector, and think-tank Kraka to replace vehicle registration fees with a GPS-based road user charging system is worth noting. According to 3F and Kraka, this would reduce congestion on Danish roads and generate savings worth €536 million (DKK 4 billion) for the nation’s finances. There is nothing new in this concept as such. Road user charging was proposed a few years ago for the UK and also for the Netherlands. But in the UK this proposal p