European Commission’s vicepresident Maroš Šefčovič, and Commissioner for Climate Action & Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete, have unveiled today the proposals to harmonise the energy systems of member states into a single Energy Union.
Among the key objectives behind this blueprint are the need to improve the competitiveness of European companies, reduce dependency on energy imports from third-countries and reduce CO2 emmissions.
The three axles of the proposed Energy Union are:
- security of supply
- sustainability
- competitiveness
Transport represents about one-fifth of all emissions within the European Union, and road transport accounts for some 80% of these. As one of the elements of the Energy Union refers to progressive decarbonisation, this will naturally have an impact on road transport.
The European Commission will support the electrification of the transport sector and the leadership of European companies in electromobility. Along these lines, it will prop up the production of biofuels and the integration of the energy and transport systems.
Among the actions already in place to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions produced by transport are:
- Mandatory CO2 targets for cars and vans
- A strategy to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions from trucks and buses
- Targets to increase renewable fuels in transport and to reduce GHG emissions from road transport fuels
- A requirement for public authorities to account for energy use and CO2 emissions when procuring vehicles
- Legislation requiring Member States to develop national policy frameworks for the market development of alternative fuels and their infrastructure
Cohesion funds will contribute to the Energy Union to materialise, by providing Member States, regions, local government and cities with resources to invest in energy efficiency in buildings, renewable energy, smart grids or sustainable urban transport.
The Commission is currently working on the concrete financial instruments that will be offered, as well as on a revision of the measures to decarbonise road transport.
Further discussions will take place in June 2015, during the Stakeholders Conference on driving the Decarbonisation of the Road Transport forward.
Source: European Commission
