6.4.2022
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 152/139
1.5.
The EESC points to the significant role of renewables, including biofuels, as an immediately available and reasonably priced solution for in particular HDVs and long-distance freight on road.
Attention needs to be paid to the greenhouse gas footprint of all alternative and renewable fuels.
1.6.
The upgrading of the electricity grid must be an immediate priority so as to facilitate fast charging stations and also the manufacture of hydrogen and other alternative fuels.
In addition, the installation of bidirectional smart meters to enable electricity to flow both ways is necessary.
Planning and regulatory requirements need to be reviewed so as to avoid delays in upgrading the grid.
1.7.
Decarbonising of transport is critically linked to the rapid increase in the generation of green electricity; e-mobility only makes sense in climate policy terms if it uses green electricity, and increased investment in green electricity is therefore essential.
The Commission must do much more to help develop and consider prosumer models.
1.8.
It is necessary to support massive public investment into R & D in scientific and technological work to improve batteries, especially in terms of size, capacity and length of service.
If research can achieve a reduction in the lithium requirement for batteries for vehicles then it would reduce our dependence on tight global supplies which come from outside the EU.
This possibility would improve EU capacity in relation to the rapid uptake of renewable energy for transport, leading to sustainable mobility.
Also, there is an urgent need for R & D and technological development so that all possible alternative fuels are evaluated and promoted and all transport modes are considered.
It would be unwise to become dependent on one system only.
In particular the potential of green hydrogen should be explored.
1.9.
The vast majority of consumers will only be convinced to buy BEVs when they are certain that adequate charging infrastructure is in place.
Even consumers who rarely drive long journeys still must be assured that they can travel a long distance in a BEV should they require to do so.
That is why this regulation is so important and that it be fully implemented throughout the EU.
1.10.
The EESC stresses the vital importance that the infrastructure is fully interoperable in every respect throughout the EU.
We cannot have a situation where drivers have to carry around various adaptors in their cars in order to use the alternative fuels infrastructure in various Member States.
1.11.
The QR code (Quick Response Code) option for ad hoc payments is not a payment system widely used in the EU despite the Commission statement in Article 5.2.
The EESC foresees that usage of this option will cause accessibility problems for many user groups.
The EESC is opposed to a situation where the use of QR code is the only method of making an ad hoc payment.
Payment card readers must be available for all ad hoc payments.
1.12.
The renewable energy directive provides calculation methods for determining GHG emissions from various alternative fuels.
However, these are of little relevance to public purchasing decisions since there is virtually no awareness of the GHG emissions values attaching to vehicles and inadequate verification of the claims made by manufacturers and sellers.
This needs to be remedied.
1.13.
The EESC is sorry that there has been virtually no discussion of the contribution that citizens, cooperatives, and also trade unions and employers, could make, despite the fact that one of the objectives of the Energy Union is to put ordinary people and thus local solutions at the centre and that it is becoming clear that a lot of e-mobility charging takes place at home or at the workplace.
The EESC therefore believes that a new strategy is needed that is more in line with the intended focus on citizens in the Energy Union, so as to promote more involvement of citizens, cooperatives, trade unions and employers in the cooperative effort to accelerate the decarbonisation of transport.
2.
Gist of Commission proposal 2.1.
The economic and social wellbeing of EU citizens is dependent on an efficient and effective mobility system throughout the EU.