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</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 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 One the one hand, future transportation has needs to meet the transportation demand for be 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.
*EU transportation is highly '''dependent on oil''', relying on it for 94% of its energy needs<ref>European Commission. (2017). ''Alternative fuels for sustainable mobility in Europe.'' Retrieved from
https://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/urban/cpt_en</ref>.
*While the share of renewable energy varies largely throughout the Member States, it is overall still very low.
*There is a strong '''reliance on road transport'''. In 2014, passenger cars contributed to over 70% of the European passenger transport overall<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>
*At the moment, '''aviation''' is estimated to accounts account for 4.9% of man-made global warming. It is, however, the faster growing and at the same time the , yet least efficient mode of transport. <ref>European Federation for Transport and Environment AISBL. (2017). ''Aviation.'' Retrieved from https://www.transportenvironment.org/what-we-do/aviation</ref>. *Today, 78% of European citizens live are currently living in cities<ref>Market Place of the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities. (2017). ''Cities - key for Europe.'' Retrieved from https://eu-smartcities.eu/about/european_context</ref>. The GHG emissions from '''urban transport''' constitute a large share of GHG emissions and many cities reliable rely heavily on road transportation.
===Close relationship between accessibility to transport, diversity and social mobility===
'' 'Lack of mobility is inextricably linked to social disadvantage and exclusion.' ''<ref>European Parliament / Legislative ObservatoryTitheridge et al. (20162014). ''2016/2327(INI) - 20/07/2016 Non-legislative basic documentTransport and Poverty.A review of the evidence'' Retrieved from httphttps://www.europarlucl.europaac.euuk/oeiltransport-institute/popupspdfs/summary.do?id=1468976&t=e&l=en transport-poverty </ref>
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 considerationsthis 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 existing 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 faster modes such as cars or trains are more often more expensive that than slower modes such a as walking or cycling. This is especially particularly 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===
===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 to improve road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, such as women, children, persons with disabilities and older elderly 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 thus limiting 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 upAdditionally, the '''2030 Energy Strategy''' targets aims 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 outlines the EU’s main policy goals objectives 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
In 2016, the EC proposed [[A European strategy for low-emissions mobility]].
===Measures on at 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>.