Transport
We envision a transport system that moves people and goods from place to place via sustainable modes. Cleaner mobility will reduce the impact of transport on the climate, improve our health and bolster Europe’s economy by reducing our reliance on imported petroleum. Enabling the transition to zero-emission vehicles and wider transport decarbonisation relies on securing fair, affordable, accessible transport options, including the rollout of sufficient charging infrastructure and availability of zero-emission vehicles to consumers, companies and public fleets, backed by a just transition for workers across Europe.
Key challenges
- The confirmation of phasing out the internal combustion engine for cars by 2035 has created momentum for real change for cars and electric buses and trucks. However, we only have a couple of decades for electric vehicle (EV) charger coverage to catch up to the long-standing network of diesel and gasoline fueling stations, which is vital to ensuring EVs are adopted.
- The energy transition calls for securing a resilient and responsible supply chain for electric vehicles. This requires finding a way to source metals in a sustainable and responsible manner, and putting in place a circular framework to recover, reuse and recycle electric vehicle batteries. In addition, we are also exploring energy and material efficiency solutions to reduce the impact of vehicles higher up the value chain, as well as looking to reduce road miles and vehicle sizes and support the development of active mobility, public transport and rail.
- With the decarbonisation of transport, we need to ensure a just transition in Europe with employment opportunities from the development of zero-emission mobility supply chains as well as access to clean air and health for all.
- Securing cleaner cities, free from transport pollution, is a major challenge. We need to work with local and national partners to support the provision of affordable, efficient, reliable public transport, serving the dual purpose of making cities more livable and helping EU countries to meet their climate targets.
- Besides rail and road transport, flying continues to be the most polluting activity an individual can do, and yet current policies deal with less than half the total pollution impact of planes. We believe we can grow our economies while cutting aviation emissions, without sacrificing annual family holidays. This includes pursuing new policies to speed up the shift from air to rail for short-haul flights, and the rapid roll-out of green hydrogen-based fuels for the longer, most polluting journeys.
Mission
The ECF is working to address these challenges by supporting activities that contribute to a well-informed policy debate at the European, national, and local levels. We favour policy approaches that fairly distribute the initial costs of the transition to cleaner and more efficient transport, and we support setting the right public framework to ensure that the right solutions are identified and widely deployed. We also push for policies to support workers and regions that have become dependent on the technologies of the past and will need help transitioning to those of the future.
How we work
We engage widely with other groups who share our goals, including consumer groups who view e-mobility as a clean and consumer-friendly solution, and various coalitions of stakeholders concerned about the threat that fossil-fuelled cars pose to our health. We also engage with industry, for example, logistics companies that are seeking to reduce their carbon footprint, to collaborate on reaching our common goal.
We also seek to reduce as much as possible any harmful fallout from the transition to cleaner transport. We engage with unions to understand the impact on workers in diesel-manufacturing-dependent regions and we advocate for measures to support inward investment, re-skilling and re-training in those regions.
Together with our network of partners, we seek a social and acceptable transport decarbonisation that will ensure a secure and sustainable future for all.
Contacts
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The ECF hosts and supports the European Clean Trucking Alliance
The European Clean Trucking Alliance (ECTA) brings together a broad and diverse range of European players in the road transport of goods such as leading businesses, associations and civil society organisations that share a strong commitment to accelerate the EU’s transition to zero-emissions trucks.
