Changes

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.

*While the share of renewable energy varies largely throughout the Member States, it is overall still very low.

*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.

'' '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 this 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 unequal access to mobility stem stems 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 victim to the a lack of 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>.

</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>. This is particularly relevant as sustainable and accessibly transport will be central to addressing the overall problem. The strong societal and global environmental impacts that are generated by transportation give good reason to view the topic from a global perspective.

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>

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:

===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 consists 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>.

*There is a set of Some European legislation concerning directly addresses 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 a 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 limits 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>.

Transport is a policy area in which both the EU and the Member States legislateholds legislative competence. '''National Governments''' therefore play a key role in the making policy decision-making process, infrastructure investment investments as well as implementing respective EU legislation. National approaches vary in many aspects, with some Member States being more ambitious in shifting towards sustainable transportation than others.

In 2016, the '''International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)''', an a UN specialized agency, agreed on to 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.

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 envisioned by the EC. The Therefore, 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 Thus, the EES proposed a multi-perspective method is proposed to address the issue: '''Avoid, Shift, Improve''':

* '''investment in certain infrastructures''': In 2014, the investment into road infrastructure accounted for 52% of European investment in transport into road infrastructure.Such a high investment is levels are argued to generate new demand, reinforcement of car-dependency, hindering and hinder investment in more sustainable transporttransportation.

A variety of different actions is discussed as carrying holding the potential to create sustainable and accessible transport. In the following, includinga few options are presented:

*Measures to '''lower the purchase costs of electric vehicles''' could increase sustainable private mobility, might however allowing more people to use them as alternative. However, there are concerns that facilitated access to electric vehicles could reinforce the reliance of private transportation and thus ultimately have a possible rebound effect , resulting in higher emissions and energy-usage. *'''Shared mobility''', including car sharing, on-demand ride services, ride-sharing, and bike sharing, might be increasingly provided by local authorities or private companies such as Car2Go or DriveNow in. ThereHowever, however the are concerns about a possible reverse effect of car sharing, with a decline in public transport ultimately leading to higher emissions<ref>The Guardian. (2017). ''What if Uber kills off public transport rather than cars?'' Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jan/13/uber-lyft-cars-public-transport-cities-commuting</ref>. Additionally, there is a controversy about exists concerning unfair competition of sharing mobility services, with several countries having banned Uber<ref>The Independent. (2017). ''Uber: Which countries have banned the controversial taxi app.'' Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/uber-ban-countries-where-world-taxi-app-europe-taxi-us-states-china-asia-legal-a7707436.html</ref>.*'''Public-private partnerships''' promise a more competitive, higher quality and seamless transport. *'''Multimodality''': the combination of different modes of transport bring hope for a reduction of road transport in urban areas, offering even more public space for zero-emission mobility. At the same time, shared mobility can supplement public transport in more peripheral areas, that would otherwise be inaccessible.

*Large potential is seen in the investment into '''technological transportation innovations''' such as '''autonomous vehicles (AVs)'''<ref>Government Technology. (2014). ''How Transportation Technologies Will Change Everything.'' Retrieved from http://www.govtech.com/transportation/How-Transportation-Technologies-Will-Change-Everything-.html</ref> or even more visionary projects like the hyperloop<ref>TechChrunch. (2017). ''Hyperloop Transportation Technologies plans to connect all of Europe, starting with the Czech Republic.'' Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/18/hyperloop-transportation-technologies-plans-to-connect-all-of-europe-starting-with-the-czech-republic/</ref>. There are, however, controversies about these transportations, including concerns about the environmental meaningfulness, security, and economic feasibility<ref>The Guardian. (2016). ''Hyperloop and our misplaced love of futuristic technology.'' Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/aug/14/hyperloop-elon-musk-futuristic-technology-transport</ref>.

Global megatrends such as population growth and urbanisation give rise to new challenges for passenger transportation. On the one hand, there is a need for transportation to respond to the mobility needs of people and become more accessible. On the other hand, the transport sector generates environmentally harmful emissions which need to be reduced. For the TRAN committee, this poses questions such as: *Do Are accessibility to transport and sustainability oppose each othercounterproductive? *Are they mutually exclusive and do they require a trade-off or can could they be combined?

Current research suggests that the future development under the existing legislation are is insufficient in achieving policy goals to reduce GHG emissions. Taking the model ‘’Avoid, Shift, Improve’’ in account: *How explicit and restrictive should measures be in evoking if they seek to trigger behavioural change?

*What are the best tactics to most effectively address transportation on these different policy levels? *What role should the EU play in the global scope of the problem?

While various cities within and outside of Europe have already implemented sustainable and accessible mobility concepts very successfully, Many many others have not yet undergone such a development.

EEA (2016): An A selection of various charts: https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators#c5=transport&b_start=0

*'''Media coverage:'''