Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on 'Transport and CO2 - Developing a Community approach'
Date: 1999-03-11
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: common transport policy, pollution control measures

14.7.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 198/3

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on ‘Transport and CO2 — Developing a Community
approach’

(1999/C 198/02)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on Transport and CO2 — Developing
a Community approach (COM (1998) 204 final);

having regard to the decision taken by the Commission on 3 April 1998, under the first paragraph of
Article 198c of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to consult the Committee of the
Regions on the matter;

having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 15 July 1998, to direct Commission 3 for
Trans-European networks, Transport and Information Society to prepare the work;

having regard to the draft opinion (CdR 230/98 rev. 1) adopted by Commission 3 on 27 November 1998
(rapporteurs: Mr Panettoni and Ms Warhurst);

considering the Opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 18 September 1997 on Climate change and
energy (CdR 104/97 fin) (1);

considering the resolution of the Committee of the Regions of 14 May 1998 on a European Charter of
regional and local authorities for a progressive and sustainable transport policy (CdR 347/97 fin) (2);

considering the White Paper on A strategy for revitalising the Community’s railways (COM(96) 421 final)
and the relevant Opinion of the Committee of the Regions (CdR 143/97 fin) (3);

considering the Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on A sustainable transport strategy for local
and regional authorities and the European Union (CdR 255/97 fin) (4);

considering the Commission communication on Trans-European rail freight freeways (COM(97) 242
final) and the Opinion (CdR 346/97 fin) (5) delivered by the Committee of the Regions following a referral
from the Commission;

considering the European Commission Green Paper on the citizens’ network: Fulfilling the potential of
public passenger transport in Europe (COM(95) 601 final);

considering the Communication on The development of short sea shipping in Europe: Prospects and
challenges (COM(95) 317 final);

considering the Green Paper on Sea ports and maritime infrastructure (COM(97) 678 final);

considering the Communication entitled Towards fair and efficient pricing in transport: policy options
for internalising the external costs of transport in the European Union (COM(95) 691 final);

considering the fifth Community programme of policy and action in relation to the environment and
sustainable development (6) which affirms the need to pursue a strategy aimed at reducing the overall
impact of transport on the environment;

(1) OJ C 379, 15.12.1997, p. 11.
(2) OJ C 251, 10.8.1998, p. 7.
(3) OJ C 379, 15.12.1997, p. 4.
(4) OJ C 180, 11.6.1998, p. 1.
(5) OJ C 180, 11.6.1998, p. 17.
(6) OJ C 138, 17.5.1993, p. 1.

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considering the Community proposal for a Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on climate change
(UNFCCC) which has the ultimate aim of
‘stabilisation of greenhouse-gas concentrations in the
atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system’;

whereas the protocol adopted in Kyoto on 10 December 1997 by the third conference of the parties to
the Convention on climate change commits the industrialised countries to reduce greenhouse-gas
emissions by an overall 5,3 % from 1990 levels by 2008-2012;

whereas the Kyoto protocol stipulated that emissions of the six main greenhouse gases not covered by
the Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer, and identified as carbon dioxide (CO2),
methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), perfluorocarbons (PFC) and sulphur
hexafluoride (SF6), should be reduced,

adopted the following opinion at its 28th plenary session on 10 and 11 March 1999 (meeting of
11 March).

1.

Introduction

The Kyoto protocol, signed by the countries attending
1.1.
the third conference of the parties in December 1997, set
targets for reducing man-made greenhouse-gas emissions and
introduced instruments for achieving this reduction. These
instruments, and in particular the acquisition and sale of
emission permits between countries which are party to the
convention, will be the subject of the fourth conference of the
parties, to be held in Buenos Aires in November 1998.

1.2.
The Committee of the Regions recognises that the EU
has played an important part in the establishment of the Kyoto
protocol and has helped advance policies for stabilising the
global climate , with a view to sustainable growth.

In the EU, transport’s share of total CO2 emissions rose
2.2.
from 19 % in 1985 to 26 % in 1995. The rise in emissions has
outstripped economic growth. For obvious reasons the road
transport sector — a large-scale consumer of energy — has
been favoured by both producers and consumers. But it must
not be forgotten that private cars alone produce about 50 %
of emissions, and that urban traffic causes about half the
emissions produced by road transport. Air traffic accounts for
only 12 % of transport-related CO2 emissions, but this sector’s
emissions are increasing at a constant rate . The breakdown of
abatement targets between economic sectors has not been
decided, and the communication does not address this ques-
tion. However, the Committee is concerned to note that unless
new policies are adopted, emissions from transport are likely
to rise by 40 %, while the package of measures being proposed
would reduce emissions growth by 20-25 % over the next
15 years. Although this reduction means halving the current
trend and entails major innovations in transport policy and in
user behaviour, the potential reduction still falls far short of
the EU’s target of an overall 8 % reduction on 1990 levels.

Attention must now focus on how to implement the
1.3.
Kyoto targets and to assess and monitor the impact of the
policies and measures adopted. The Committee intends to play
a significant part in framing strategies while regional and local
authorities will see to their practical implementation, backed
by moves to ensure a level playing field, consistent action at
all levels of authority and active partnership between all the
parties involved in fostering sustainable growth.

2.3.
The Committee therefore endorses the Commission’s
wish to see the proposed measures adopted swiftly and
decisively. However, the Committee feels that further measures
will have to be devised in the near future; such measures
should focus on local and urban transport, as these are the
sectors with the highest growth rate, contain the most obvious
critical points in operational and environmental terms, and
involve the largest number of persons and activities.

2. General comments

3. Specific comments

2.1.
Transport is a key sector in action to contain the
growth in CO2 emissions, because of its special nature and the
growing demand in all the signatory countries of the Kyoto
protocol. The Committee broadly endorses the Commission
communication on transport and CO2 and feels that the
proposed measures provide a sound basis for achieving the
abatement targets.

3.1.
The Committee endorses the perspective outlined in
the communication, and agrees that the Kyoto targets cannot
be reached without radical changes in policies, in instruments
responsibilities between the
and in the breakdown of
implementing parties.
In particular, the Committee thinks
that the expansion of the transport sector relative to GDP

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(U*km/GDP) must be reversed or at least radically stemmed.
GDP rose by 26 % over the period 1985-1995, while CO2
emissions from transport rose by 37 %.

and innovative ways of improving urban mobility (traffic
calming, use of information technology to improve traffic
flow, rationalisation of routes and speeds). Regulatory adjust-
ments by national government and by the Commission itself
would help to generalise such measures.

3.2.
In these circumstances, the Committee considers it
vitally important that traditional policies for managing the
provision of infrastructure and services be backed by new and
effective policies for managing the demand for mobility.
The Committee believes that local and regional transport is
primarily a matter for local, regional and national authorities,
working in co-operation with transport operators and trans-
port user groups. Local and regional government therefore has
an important role to play in achieving changes to these
policies. They can help to achieve improvements in the quality
of life for people who live and work in their areas and regions.
Working in co-operation and partnership, local and regional
government can perform this by:

— Managing the demand for mobility

— Co-operating with other local authorities and regions to
ensure that measures are practical, efficient and politically
viable.

— Assuring the business sector that there is a market for

green transport goods.

3.3.
The most effective contribution that regional and local
government can make to reduce CO2 is to manage the demand
for mobility and to help people reduce the demand to travel.
The majority of the European Union’s regional and local
authorities are responsible for land-use planning and can
therefore determine the location of residential areas and areas
of economic activity in relation to transport infrastructure. By
adopting a co-ordinated approach to integrated land-use
planning, local and regional authorities can help people reduce
the need to travel; this means locating amenities and services
the
near people and locating the activities which attract
heaviest traffic near public transport stops and stations. Local
and regional authorities should, however, be given increased
decision-making powers regarding the extent to which their
areas are opened up to traffic and guarantees as to mobility
and accessibility for all their citizens.

3.4.
The Committee is pleased to note that the Commission
recognises that land-use policies plus complementary measures
could reduce emissions per capita per day ‘to about one third’
by 2010. The Committee thinks that greater attention — and
hence more research resources — should be devoted to what
the communication terms ‘complementary’ measures, such as
town-planning policies specifically designed to reduce trans-
port demand, encouraging a new mobility culture, education
and information policies on the environmental
impact of
transport, the promotion of organised car sharing and non-
motorised mobility (walking and cycling), organising practical
training designed to encourage an environmentally-friendly
and fuel-saving driving style (Eco-driving training programme),

3.5.
Although the abovementioned measures are left almost
entirely to regional and local authorities, the Committee
attaches great importance to explicit Community and national
recognition of their role in meeting the Kyoto targets. It
follows that it would be appropriate to launch and monitor
large-scale pilot programmes, to implement existing networks
for disseminating experience and assisting with planning and
organisation, and to set aside adequate resources for the
promotion and development of the most effective abatement
measures and the Committee calls upon the Commission to
assist. The Committee urges the Commission to encourage
local and regional authorities to take account of managing the
demand for mobility when developing their local and regional
strategies. The Committee welcomes the broad thrust of
measures proposed for local and regional and passenger
transport outlined in the Commission’s Communication on
Developing the Citizens’ Network.

3.6.
In addition to the main long-term aim of managing
the demand for mobility, other co-ordinated measures will
need to be adopted to achieve the reduction in CO2: firstly, the
revamped pricing system proposed in the 1996 green paper,
under which users cover more of the costs generated by
transport,
including social and environmental costs; and
secondly, a radical overhaul of the present system of incentives,
which have often had the perverse effect of stimulating a
demand which is not needed for the development of economic
activities and the well-being of the community.

Other additional technical measures for reducing CO2 emis-
sions are: to enhance vehicles’ energy efficiency and the use of
alternative fuels, to reduce congestion and, more generally,
reduce the impact of negative externalities. Regional and local
authorities are already actively pursuing transport policies that
are geared to these objectives, and are ready to make a further
contribution to meeting the Kyoto targets by pursuing specific
policies for horizontal integration between different transport
modes and areas. Such policies can best be devised and applied
at the local and regional level.

The Committee agrees on the need to focus inter-
3.7.
the largest
vention on the transport modes which emit
amounts of CO2. This principally means road transport
but also air transport, which produces the most CO2 per

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passenger/km and per ton/km of freight. The Committee
therefore calls on the Commission to encourage the price
structures of transport to reflect the true costs of travel (1), by
altering price structures so that sustainable transport becomes
cheaper and more attractive at the point of use and vice-versa.
Tolls should be a disincentive to transport by road where
railways are an alternative. The Committee looks forward to
receiving the Commission’s report on Air Transport and the
Environment, and to commenting on the White Paper on Fair
payment for infrastructure use. The Committee advocates that
more emphasis should be put on promoting environmentally
friendly alternative forms of transport such as walking and
cycling.

3.8.
The Committee considers that new competition and
market rules are vital for a more efficient transport system.
The rationale for this innovation varies from country to
country. The Committee asks the Commission to encourage
the sharing of experience of competition to take place. In
particular, the Committee asks the Commission to note that in
the light of UK experience, deregulation and the advent of
open market competition has not been universally advan-
tageous. Open competition may lead to a cheap network but
it will not necessarily lead to a transport system which fits
consumer needs, provides customer services and is cognisant
of the environmental impact. There must be caveats in the
system and it cannot be assumed that the market will directly
provide the best and most efficient system. Moreover, the
experience of many EU countries which have not implemented
deregulation programmes shows that state-owned transport
companies do not necessarily pursue public goals. Conse-
quently, the Committee considers that efforts must focus
principally on regulatory issues by public institutions. It is
essential that quality standards are provided within the service
contract which include user benefits such as customer care.
There must also be compliance with social requirements such
as wage levels and working conditions. The Committee urges
the Commission to consider competition within the context
of environmental, customer, local and regional authorities’
concerns as well as operators’ concerns.

The Committee particularly appreciates the emphasis
3.10.
placed on logistics as an instrument
for reducing both
transport costs and the distances travelled by individual
vehicles, the aim being to reduce empty running and overall
traffic. If properly enshrined in public policies, development
of third-party logistics offers good potential for demand-side
management of freight transport, as it reduces the impact of
external-cost internalisation on prices.

3.11.
The communication devotes insufficient attention to
urban freight transport. The Committee feels that this is a
highly promising intervention area in which regional and local
authorities could offer innovative solutions. The potential for
rationalising the use of road space could do much to help
achieve the Kyoto targets.

Technological

3.12.
innovation policies, backed by tax
instruments and voluntary agreements with vehicle manufac-
turers, can play a key role in reducing emissions, especially
from cars. However, experience has shown that replacing the
vehicle fleet is a slow process if special measures are not
taken to encourage scrapping. This means that technological
innovations only produce significant results over the medium
to long term. Moreover, technological advances relating to
environmental factors can be neutralised by the increasing
power and performance of new vehicles. Consequently, all
measures implemented by the Member States or the Com-
mission in this field should be accompanied by policies on
fleet development and use. Regional and local authorities
have made a major effort to speed up the introduction of
innovations, offering manufacturers a prime market in the
form of public vehicle fleets, including the official cars used by
the authorities. Regional and local authorities can further assist
by communicating with the business sector to assure them of
the demand for green transport goods.

3.9.
Provisions must be aligned internationally and must
ensure high levels of safety and environmental compatibility.
To this end, the Committee approves the proposed instruments
such as fuel taxation (with exceptions for public transport), the
realignment of taxes on kerosene for air transport and, above
all, the development of efficient pricing that more faithfully
reflects the costs borne by society, and particularly social and
environmental costs. The Green Paper on fair and efficient
pricing provides a useful starting point which should be taken
further and translated into practical measures.

3.13.
Regional and local policies have given effective sup-
port for wider use of electric vehicles, vehicles with a very low
fuel consumption and vehicles that use ‘green’ fuels. Such
support should continue, not least because it provides a direct
demonstration of the practical value of these innovative forms
of vehicle.

(1) As previously discussed in the Committee’s opinions, such as
Opinion CdR 406/95 fin (OJ C 337, 11.11.1996, p. 13) on the
Common Transport Policy Action Programme 1995-2000.

3.14.
Rail transport is undergoing major innovations, with
the introduction of competition rules and the opening-up to
new operators. The picture is changing rapidly, as local
railways are being entrusted to regional operators, national
radically changed, and transnational networks
networks
developing with the introduction of rail-freight
freeways.
Regional and local authorities will be called on to play a much

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more effective role than hitherto, and to assume responsibility
for managing demand and for planning and controlling supply
at local level. Here the Committee considers that integration
between the various functions of the network and the various
regions is vital.

system and the regional economy, including ex post monitoring
of emission reductions.

3.15.
In the context of urban mobility, the Committee
endorses the importance accorded to the development of
public transport networks as an instrument for reducing CO2
emissions. The challenge for the future is for local and regional
authorities to assist in the shift away from dependence on
private cars and make transport systems more sustainable
to achieve a new mobility culture. The communication’s
suggestions regarding key parameters such as the energy
efficiency of vehicle occupancy rates pave the way for more
sophisticated public transport policies. Collective forms of
transport such as car and van pooling, collective taxis and car
sharing are interesting ideas and should also be taken into
account in the public transport system. These important
innovations could form the subject of a pilot-studies pro-
gramme at European level. Co-operation between regional/
local authorities and businesses and other transport users will
contribute greatly to the success of efforts to encourage wider
use of public transport and a socially more efficient use of
private cars.

The Committee agrees that

3.16.
the development of
short-distance sea shipping within the EU can help to improve
intermodal balance and reduce road traffic, while improving
energy consumption and reducing CO2 emissions. The Com-
mittee wishes the Commission to note the importance of
inland waterways in this aim also. However, the Committee
stresses that such action will only be possible if it is part of a
total transport system reorganised according to new logistical
criteria and policies which encourage intermodality.

3.17.
Integrated, coherent organisation of the various con-
stituents of the transport system is essential for meeting the
targets set in the communication. This applies to intermodality
and the development of combined transport, the development
of short sea shipping and inland waterways, the creation of
a network of international rail-freight corridors (freeways),
rational organisation of road transport along terminal sections
and over short to medium distances at least, and an effective
interface with regional and urban transport.

The key role of planning instruments, and of instru-
3.18.
ments for assessing the economic (and other) effects of action
taken, has not yet been fully addressed. The Committee
advocates the introduction of an Environmental Impact Assess-
ment (EIA) as part of the transport plan. The subnational
nature of regional and local authorities, and their detailed
knowledge of local conditions, make them potentially an ideal
forum for integrated planning that embraces the transport

4. Conclusions

4.1.
The Committee of the Regions welcomes the com-
munication on transport and CO2. It endorses the analysis and
the proposed sectoral abatement measures. However, thought
must be given to further measures for curbing the increase in
emissions, as although the increase is to be halved it will still
be inconsistent with the Kyoto targets.

4.2.
The Committee attaches particular importance to
the development of integrated regional transport planning,
specifically designed to reduce transport demand. The Com-
mittee encourages the Commission to further develop ways in
which this can be implemented as part of a co-ordinated
approach to achieving a new mobility culture.

4.3.
The Committee particularly supports the chosen sec-
It agrees that CO2 abatement
toral categories of action.
measures will also benefit the economy and the environment,
and that swift action is needed in six areas:

— economising passenger-car fuel by, for example, continu-
ing the development and production of vehicles with low
fuel consumption ;

— securing the adoption of fairer and more efficient pricing;

— encouraging public transport, especially in urban centres,
and completion of the single market in rail transport;

— improving the environmental performance of air transport;

— promoting short sea shipping;

— encouraging modal integration and the development of

intermodality.

4.4.
The Committee endorses the measures proposed for
the various segments of the transport system, but notes the
priority given to long-distance and to national and inter-
national transport and the underestimation of the role which
urban and local transport policy can play in reducing emissions
and improving quality of life. However, measures taken in this
policy sector make for lasting improvements in public health
and the quality of
local government in
life. The role of
encouraging environmentally and climate friendly transport
management and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions must
be recognised.

The Committee agrees

4.5.
the
various levels of government (national, regional, local) should

that action plans at

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consistently involve public and private players and should
be backed by effective systems for monitoring trends in CO2

emissions and compliance with commitments at national
and local level.

Brussels, 11 March 1999.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Manfred DAMMEYER

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the ‘Communication from the Commission to the
Council, the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social
Committee “Developing the Citizens’ Network — Why good local and regional passenger
transport is important, and how the European Commission is helping to bring it about”’

(1999/C 198/03)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the
Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee ‘Developing the Citizens’ Network
— Why good local and regional passenger transport is important, and how the European Commission is
helping to bring it about’ (COM(1998) 431 final);

having regard to the decision of the Commission of 13 July 1998, in accordance with the first paragraph
of Article 198c of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to consult the Committee on the
subject;

having regard to the bureau decision of 15 July 1998 to instruct Commission 3 for Trans-European
Networks, Transport and Information Society to draw up the relevant opinion;

having regard to the draft opinion (CdR 436/98 rev. 1) adopted by Commission 3 on 22 January 1999
(rapporteur: Mr Panettoni),

adopted the following opinion at its 28th plenary session of 10 and 11 March 1999 (meeting of
11 March).

1.

Introduction

1.1. The influence of local and regional passenger transport

The Committee of the Regions recognises that trans-
1.1.1.
port unquestionably plays a key role in the sustainable
development which the Amsterdam Treaty singles out as one
of the objectives of the European Union.

1.1.2.
The Committee believes that a local and regional
transport network meeting the highest standards of quality
and sustainability must be created if territorial economic
development plans are to be successfully implemented. A good
local and regional transport network is crucial for a properly
functioning national and European transport system. A system
of this kind has multiple effects, all of considerable economic,

environmental and social value. An efficient transport system
is a key structural component in economic development plans,
and hence in job-creation programmes. At the same time, it is
a vital element for sustainable development processes since it
helps to relieve traffic congestion, restore the environment, cut
energy consumption and reduce pollution, particularly CO2.
Efficient
is also an effective
instrument for containing and reducing the social exclusion of
the economically disadvantaged, the unemployed, the disabled
and the populations of peripheral and rural areas. In addition,
it reinforces the territorial cohesion of vulnerable areas.

local and regional

transport

1.1.3.
The Committee would highlight the basic fact that
although demand for mobility has been on the rise for several