The European Commission presented on the 9th December 2020 its ‘Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy – putting European transport on track for the future’ led by the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) together with an Action Plan of 82 initiatives in 10 key areas for action (‘flagships’) with concrete measures to be adopted over the next four years. This strategy lays the foundation for how the EU transport system can achieve its green and digital transformation and become more resilient to future crises. As outlined in the European Green Deal, the result will be a 90% cut in emissions by 2050, delivered by a smart, competitive, safe, accessible and affordable transport system.

A set of milestones is to keep the strategy on track. By 2030, the Commission aims to have in Europe at least 30 million zero-emission cars on roads, 100 climate neutral cities, double the high-speed rail traffic (compared to 2015), achieve that scheduled collective travel for journeys under 500 km is carbon neutral, automated mobility is deployed at large scale and zero-emission marine vessels are ready for the market. By 2035, zero-emission large aircraft should be market-ready.

By 2050, the Commission expects that in the EU, nearly all cars, vans, buses and trucks are to be zero-emission, rail freight traffic will double and high-speed rail traffic triple, while the multimodal trans-European transport network (TEN-T) should become fully operational and ensure high-speed connectivity. The use of short sea shipping and inland navigation should increase by 50%. The Commission wants to achieve this by strengthening the existing rules, proposing new legislation and providing support measures and guidance.

Read more here.

Source: EU Research & Innovation for and with Cities. 2021. European Commission.

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