The Ship of Avila
Updated:25/05/2022 04:41h
Save
The main source of CO2 emissions is transportation. The European Union is at a decisive moment to decide the rules on clean vehicles, and the European Commission proposes that from 2035 only new zero-emission vans and cars be allowed to be sold. A decision that is not definitive but that has many possibilities of being approved by the Plenary of the European Union. Countries like Germany, Italy and Spain are favorable to this ambition.
This regulation has been analyzed at the recent European Automotive Climate Summit held in Madrid and organized by Transport & Environment (T&E), the main European group in favor of clean transport. A summit that has welcomed government, industrial and union leaders, as well as environmental and consumer advocates.
“Two years ago, with the Covid crisis, it seemed that things were going to change, but I am sorry to tell you that we have already reached three quarters of pre-pandemic emissions, and only in the aviation sector is it already 100% », said William Todts, executive director of T&E.
For those responsible for this organization, renewable energies are the solution, “which can allow us to stop depending on fossil fuels and on countries like Russia, Saudi Arabia and the like. And clean transport is not only the electric vehicle, it is also traveling only when you have to, riding a bicycle or using public transport.
“If we want to electrify transport, we need to increase electricity generation, and this must be renewable,” explained Pascal Canfin, president of the ENVI committee (Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety) of the European Parliament.
“In 2030 we want 45% of our energy consumption to come from renewable sources, but today we are at 22%. We have needed seven years to duplicate what we have built in decades, we have to promote the green transition even more », he said.
“There is a majority in the Europarliament that supports the 45% objective in transport, even in the context of war in which we live and in which we have to guarantee the supply of gas.”
“This is the first time that Germany has supported such an ambitious low-emission target,” said Christiane Rohleder, State Secretary at the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection.
In turn, Christiane Rohleder, Secretary of State for the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, stressed that this is the first time that Germany has supported such an ambitious low-emissions target.
However, he has recognized that the CO2 emission reduction target “is not going to be enough” as the only way to reach 15 million electric vehicles in 2030. “In addition, many car manufacturers have already decided to reduce the production of cars of combustion even in this same decade of the 20». However, he has recognized that “the CO2 emission reduction target is not going to be enough as the only means to reach 15 million electric vehicles in 2030”.
“Italy agrees with the European Commission’s proposal to increase the ambition in the 2035 goals, especially in light transport and vans, and in the case of biofuels we propose their use where there are no alternatives,” he added, for his part, Enrico Giovannini, Minister of Sustainable Transport and Infrastructure of Italy.
“But we know the reality of our country, with the oldest vehicle fleet in the EU, coming out of a recession due to the pandemic and an uncertain economic future.” Italy foresees a goal of 6 million electric vehicles by 2030 but sees the change process as difficult, “because it will be anything but linear, we need to know what the reaction of the market and of people is, Italians are saving because they are worried about their future”.
Enrico Giovannini has acknowledged that “Italy is late compared to other European countries, with a low number of charging points and electric vehicles circulating on its roads, but we are willing to promote the transition”.
This delay has also been admitted by Joan Groizard, general director of the IDAE (Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving). “We are lagging behind due to our purchasing power, and also due to a problem of geography, 90% of our mobility is short distances, but traveling around the country means making very long trips due to the size of the territory.”
In Spain, “a large part of our economy is connected in some way to the automobile sector. The transformation in this sector wants to reinforce the green autonomy of Spain and Europe».
See them
comments