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At the same time, the issue is strongly related to '''sustainability'''. In 2010, the OECD projected the global emissions from transportation to double by 2050<ref>OECD. (2010). ''OECD Environmental Outlook to 2050.'' Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/env/cc/49082173.pdf
</ref>. Such a development would be highly incompatible with the efforts required to mitigate climate change, including the need to reduce [[GHG]]. With the continuous increase in transport emissions, reaching the [[Paris Agreement|Paris]] goal of a 20% reduction in [[GHG]] emissions between 2012 and 2030 becomes highly unfeasible. Climate change research, however, suggests that an achievement of the Paris goals is crucial for avoiding a critical threshold after which the effect effects of climate change would be disastrous and irreversible.
Taking the two factors of accessibility and sustainability together, a '''major challenge''' for future transportation becomes clear: On the one hand, future transportation has to meet the transportation demand for faster and more accessible transportation for a growing number of people in an increasingly urban environment. On the other hand, the total amount of GHG emissions resulting from this transport have to be reduced.
Identifying the main links between accessibility to transport, diversity and social mobility allows to understand the sociological aspect of the topic. The fact that mobility is connected to many fundamental aspects of an individual’s life, lays at the basis of these consideration. Generally, low access to transportation threatens to limit a person’s opportunities to '''access health care, education and jobs'''. It is therefore that mobility is such a relevant topic for society and that barriers to the access to transportation are so closely tied to '''social inequality'''.
To a large extent, inequalities in the access to mobility stem from the varying '''user costs ''' for different modes of transportation: Faster modes such as cars or trains are more often more expensive that slower modes such a walking or cycling. This is especially the case for '''rural areas''', in which transportation infrastructure is often insufficient. There, individuals without private cars such as young, elderly or unemployed, are particularly vulnerable to the lack affordable mobility options<ref>The Telegraph. (2014). ''Rural communities more isolated as transport forgotten''. Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/10569800/Rural-communities-more-isolated-as-public-transport-forgotten.html</ref>. The problem is, however, also increasingly important for '''urban areas'''. According to experts, there is and has been an overemphasis of “higher speed” in urban planning, meaning that the transportation infrastructure would be mainly designed in a way to respond for a growing demand of faster transportation. Thereby, the aspect of “high density” seems to be neglected. In such an approach, there is a stronger focus on transportation responding to the growing travel demand as a tool to achieving social justice, ensuring that transport is affordable, easy to access for all parts of the society<ref>Litmann, T. (2017). ''Evaluating Accessibility for Transportation Planning''. Retrieved from http://www.vtpi.org/access.pdf</ref>.
===Global dimension of issue===
Looking at the topic on a European level is only a part of the problem. Taking the '''global differences in transport developments ''' into consideration, this becomes evident. Overall, the highest increase in transport demands and the involved GHG emissions is expected to take place in '''developing countries'''<ref>OECD. (2010). ''OECD Environmental Outlook to 2050.'' Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/env/cc/49082173.pdf
</ref>. Furthermore, the UN estimates that these countries account for close to 90% of urbanisation worldwide<ref>United Nations. (2014). ''World’s population increasingly urban with more than half living in urban areas.'' Retrieved from http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/population/world-urbanization-prospects-2014.html</ref>. The strong societal and global environmental impacts that are generated by transportation give good reason to view the topic from a global perspective.
===General goals on international and European level===
Under Goal 11, ‘’Sustainable Cities and Communities’’ of the '''[[Sustainable Development Goals]]''', the UN agreed on a target to create "access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons."<ref>United Nations Development Programme. (2017). ''Goal 11 Targets.'' Retrieved from http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-11-sustainable-cities-and-communities/targets.html</ref>
Furthermore, the '''New Urban Agenda''' was adopted at the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (UN Habitat III) in Quito in October 2016. It aims to "Improve connectivity and support innovative and green initiatives" and "Promote safe, accessible and green public spaces"<ref>United Nations. (2016).''The New Urban Agenda: Key Commitments.'' Retrieved from http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2016/10/newurbanagenda/</ref>.
With regards to emissions, the '''2015 [[Paris Agreement]] ''' laid down key international goals. It set the objectives to keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial level and limit the increase to 1.5°C. Moreover, the Agreement aims at reducing GHG emissions by at least 20% between 2012 and 2030. Expressing their commitment, the EU as well as most Member States individually ratified the Paris Agreement<ref>European Council. (2016). Climate Change: Council adopts decision for EU ratification of Paris Agreement Retrieved from http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2016/10/04-adoption-paris-agreement/</ref>. On a European level, the '''EU 2020 strategy''', adopted in 2010, set general targets to address climate change and energy sustainability such as cutting GHG by 20% until 2020, compared to 1990 levels. As a follow up, the '''2030 Energy Strategy ''' targets to reduce emissions by 40% until 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Additionally, national emission targets are set by the [[Effort Sharing Decision]].
Looking more specifically at transport, the European Commission’s '''2011 White Paper ''' constitutes the EU’s main policy goals for sustainability<ref>European Commission. (2017). White Paper 2011. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/strategies/2011_white_paper_en</ref>. For 2050, these include:
*reduction of 60% in GHG from transport (compared to 1990 levels)
*European cities free of conventionally-fuelled cars
===Measures on the European level===
*In 1996, the EU established the '''Trans-European Transport Networks programme (TEN-T) ''' to enhance the European infrastructure network. The programme consisting of a variety of infrastructural projects aiming to improve the cohesion, interconnection and interoperability of trans-European transport<ref>European Commission. (2017). TEN-T Projects. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/inea/en/ten-t/ten-t-projects </ref>.*Adopted in 2009 by the European Commission, the '''Action Plan on Urban Mobility ''' includes measures to help local, regional and national authorities in achieving their goals for sustainable urban mobility<ref>European Commission. (2017). ''Action Plan on urban mobility.'' Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/urban/urban_mobility/action_plan_en</ref>. In 2013, this commitment was reinforced with 2013 Urban Mobility Package<ref>European Commission. (2017). ''Urban Mobility Package.'' Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/urban/urban_mobility/ump_en</ref>. *Adopted in 2016, the '''Fourth Railway Package ''' aims to improve the competitiveness, quality and cost-efficiency of rail transport by opening it to the market and facilitating railway undertakings beyond single Member States<ref>European Commission. (2017). ''Fourth Railway Package of 2016.'' Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/rail/packages/2013_en</ref>.*There is a set of European legislation concerning the use of alternative fuels.The 2009 '''Renewable Energy Directive (RED''') set legally binding targets for Member States to obtain at least 10% of their transport fuels from renewable sources by 2020<ref>European Commission. (2017). ''Renewable energy directive.'' Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/renewable-energy/renewable-energy-directive</ref>. As the transport sector achieved a 6% share of renewable energy in 2015, some Member States will have to intensify their efforts in order to meet this target<ref>European Commission. (2017). ''Progress Report.'' Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/renewable-energy/progress-reports</ref>. Additionally, the 2014 '''Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive - (AFID''') requires Member States to develop national policy framework for the market development of alternative fuels and their infrastructure<ref>European Commission. (2017). ''Alternative fuels for sustainable mobility in Europe.'' Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/urban/cpt_en</ref>. The 2015 Fuel Quality Directive limit the share of biofuel that can be counted towards the 2020 renewable energy targets to 7%<ref>EUR-Lex. (2015). ''Directive (EU) 2015/1513 of the European Parliament and of the Council.'' Retrieved from http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32015L1513</ref>.*The EU has several '''financial instruments ''' to support investment and research in the area of transport, such as the [[Horizon 2020 work programme]] and the [[Connecting Europe Facility]].
===European States and Local Authorities===
Transport is a policy area in which both the EU and the Member States legislate. '''National Governments ''' therefore play a key role in making policy decision, infrastructure investment as well as implementing respective EU legislation. National approaches vary in many aspects, with some States being more ambitious in shifting towards sustainable transportation than others.
Often, Cities '''cities and local authorities ''' are responsible for urban planning and transport infrastructure. While measures taken by different cities vary largely<ref>EPOMM. (2017). ''TEMS - The EPOMM Modal Split Tool.'' Retrieved fromhttp://www.epomm.eu/tems/result_cities.phtml?more=1</ref>, '''sustainable urban transportation concepts ''' include the establishment of public space for low-emission mobility including cycling and walking as well as accessible public transport. There has been both governmental and non-governmental efforts to foster '''cooperation and exchange ''' of best practices among cities. On a European level, these include EPOMM <ref>EPOMM. (2017). ''Overview.'' Retrieved from http://www.epomm.eu/index.php?id=2663</ref>, Smart Cities and Communities<ref>European Commission. (2017). ''Smart Cities and Communities.'' Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/eip/smartcities/</ref> and EUROCITIES<ref>UROCITIES. (2016). ''about EUROCITIES.'' Retrieved from http://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/about_us</ref>. To a much smaller extent, there has also been effort for global cooperation of cities such as Action Platform: Urban Electric Mobility Initiative (UEMI)<ref>UEMI. (2017). ''about UEMI.'' Retrieved from http://www.uemi.net/uemi.html</ref>.
===Aviation===
In 2016, the '''International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)''', an UN specialized agency, agreed on a plan to reduce aviation emissions and cap them at 2020 levels. While all other transport sectors are excluded from it, aviation is part of the [[Emissions Trading Scheme]] (ETS). While its scope has been limited to flights within the EEA until 2016 in order to support the ICAOs efforts for a global agreement, it is now being discussed whether this limited approach should be continued.
==Key Conflicts, Opportunities & Challenges of (Potential) Measures==
===Unsuitability of purely technical solutions===
Analyzing the current trends and policies, the EEA expects European passenger transport to grow by 40% between 2010 and 2050<ref>EEA. (2016). Term 2016: ''Fundamental changes needed for sustainable mobility.'' Retrieved from https://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/term-2016-fundamental-changes-needed.</ref> Furthermore, it expects GHG emissions in 2050 to be three times higher than targeted at by the EC. The report therefore suggests that '''current policies are insufficient ''' in achieving sustainability. The EEA urges that besides technical solutions and improvements in the energy-efficiency of existing modes of transportation, a much more fundamental change in travel behaviour is needed. A multi-perspective method is proposed to address the issue: '''Avoid, Shift, Improve''':*''Avoid '' high transport demand: Measures that aim to reduce the individual’s behaviour in everyday practice of using certain transportation.*''Shift '' to more sustainable modes with low or zero emission: Measures that facilitate a shift from aviation and road to more energy efficient modes such as waterborne and public transport as well as cycling or walking. *''Improve '' energy efficiency of individual transport modes: Incentives for increased competitiveness.
Some factors can be identified that appear to hamper the exploitation of already existing opportunities, such as new transportation technologies or mobility concepts. These include:
* '''investment in certain infrastructures''': In 2014, the investment into road infrastructure 52% of investment in transport into road infrastructure.Such a high investment is argued to generate new demand, reinforcement of car-dependency, hindering investment in more sustainable transport.
[[File:Investment in transport infrastructure - EEA 2016.png|thumb|Investment in transport infrastructure - EEA 2016]]
* according to the EEA, incumbent interests of '''car manufacturing industries ''' seem to play a role, as the industry’s interest to seek niche technologies is dependent on external pressure for change.*incentives generated by '''current taxation policies''', such as the absence of a kerosene tax on international flights, are described to insufficiently encourage a shift to more sustainable alternatives.
===Possibilities for change===