Transport, the Achilles heel of European decarbonization

Compared to other sectors of the economy that are rapidly decarbonizing, emissions associated with transportation continue to increase.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
03 May 2024 Friday 23:18
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Transport, the Achilles heel of European decarbonization

Compared to other sectors of the economy that are rapidly decarbonizing, emissions associated with transportation continue to increase. This is the main conclusion of a report presented last March by the European Federation of Transport and Environment (in English, Transport

According to the data shown in the report, the transport sector currently generates almost a third (29%) of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Europe, above 1,000 MtCO2e (metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent). carbon), the equivalent of the total emissions of Germany and the Netherlands added.

This entity has reported that emissions related to the transportation sector have increased by 25% since 1990, when they 'only' accounted for 17% of the total count. Meanwhile, pollution linked to the rest of the sectors of the economy has been reduced by 38% since then. With these data, projections suggest that mobility will be responsible for almost half (44%) of the continent's total emissions in 2030 if the appropriate measures are not applied to reverse this trend.

The report, entitled The state of European transport in 2024: an overview of Europe's biggest climate problem, states that the main source of emissions within the transport sector continues to be diesel and gasoline vehicles (40%). Europe's dependence on this type of fuel is even greater than in the 1990s, mainly due to the construction of motorways and the increase in vehicle fleets. On the other hand, emissions linked to aviation are growing at a faster rate and have doubled in the last 30 years.

Transport

With this analysis, T