From: Greenpeace via Jym Dyer <jym@mica.berkeley.edu>
Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive,alt.activism,talk.environment
Subject: NEWS: Study Unmasks Contradictions in EC Transport Policy
Followup-To: talk.environment
Date: 29 Dec 1992 01:23:43 GMT
Organization: The Naughty Peahen Party Line
NNTP-Posting-Host: remarque.berkeley.edu
Keywords: environment press transportation

[Greenpeace Press Release from Greenbase -- Redistribute Freely]
  
DEAD END ROAD -- GREENPEACE STUDY UNMASKS CONTRADICTIONS IN EC
TRANSPORT POLICY
  
BRUSSELS, November 24th, 1992 (GP) European transport policy
is contradictory and not suitable to solve global and local
environmental problems caused by freight transport. This is the
result disclosed by a study called "DEAD END ROAD -- Climate
Protection in European Freight Transport" which was presented by
Greenpeace today.
  
However, the study also shows a way out: a 42% reduction in CO2
emissions could be achieved within less than two decades if the
EC would adopt a consistent policy aiming at sustainable
mobility.
  
"So far, the European Commission's right hand did not seem to
know what its left hand was doing", said Dr. Gudrun Lammers of
Greenpeace's EC Unit.
  
On the one hand, the green paper on sustainable mobility,
published earlier this year, shows that there is a growing
awareness in the Commission about congestion problems, the
decline in quality of life, and the rising contribution to
global climate change that the ever-increasing road transport
of goods brings about.  A shift from road to rail was one of
the suggested solutions.  The EC has also committed itself to
stabilize its CO2 emissions at 1990 levels by the year 2000.
  
On the other hand, the Commission plans to extend the European
motorway network by 12,000 kms under the Trans European Network
(TEN) programme. As an entrance ticket to the European Economic
Area (EEA) and EC admission, the Community imposed transit
agreements on the Alpine countries, Austria and Switzerland,
which will accelerate the already disproportionate growth in
road freight transport. They are also insufficient to guarantee
a minimum level of environmental protection to the sensitive
Alpine eco-systems.
  
"Now, up to 3,000 trucks creep up the St. Gotthard pass every
day", said Dr. Georg Furger from Greenpeace Switzerland, "almost
three per minute. How many more will the dying forests have to
cope with?"
  
"The EC's contradictory transport policy will lead to a 44%
increase in CO2 emissions by the year 2010", said Christian Hey
of the European Institute for Regional Studies (EURES), the
author of the study.
  
Yet according to the world's leading climate scientists from the
IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change), a CO2 reduction of
80% by the middle of the next century is necessary to prevent
uncontrollable climate change.
  
Greenpeace adopted an interim target of a 40% emissions
reduction in the transport sector by 2010, in accordance with
the European Parliament's goal. This requires a comprehensive
policy mix in freight transport.
  
"Even if the EC tried to realize the maximum potential of
technical improvements by setting tough fuel efficiency
standards, freight transport would still see a 13% increase
of its CO2 emissions", said Mr. Hey.
  
Shifting freight from road to rail could help achieve a
decline in emissions of about 3.5%. This would necessitate
the removal of hidden subsidies to road infrastructure and
the internalization of external cost. The latter range
between 0.06 to 0.1 ECU per tonne-kilometre, implying a
five-fold increase in transport cost.
  
If the 40% goal is to be achieved, transport demand has to be
restricted through more drastic, long-term structural policies,
i. e. production and consumption have to be regionalized.
  
"A climate catastrophe can be prevented if the EC rolls up its
sleeves and gets down to work with both hands", said Dr. Lammers.
  
"This afternoon, Transport Commissioner Karel Van Miert will
present the Commission's white paper on transport to the
European Parliament's Transport Committee. We hope this will
finally be a step towards the right direction."
  
  
For more information, please call:   Dr. Gudrun Lammers 
                    Greenpeace EC Unit 
                    (32 2) 736 99 27 
Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive