Transport & Environment (T&E)

EV sales continue to grow in Europe. But Germany held back the EU electric car market in the first half of 2024, new data shows. While battery electric sales in the rest of the EU (excluding Germany) increased by 9.4%, in the whole of the EU with Germany they only increased by 1.3%. The abrupt removal of purchase subsidies in Germany contributed to a 16.4% decrease in BEV sales in the country in the first half of 2024. Meanwhile, EV sales during the first half of the year grew in European markets with supportive regulatory environments: ➡️In France, which has a social leasing scheme, BEV sales increased by 14.9% ➡️In Italy, BEV sales increased by 7%, with a sales peak in June 2024 when new EV incentives were launched ➡️In Belgium, the company car segment drove the BEV market with a 47.8% increase ➡️In the UK, the ZEV mandate has driven the BEV market, with sales increasing by 9.2% It’s not too late for Germany to correct its regulatory environment to be more supportive of EV investment and avoid stagnation. The German government should use its upcoming budget to drive electrification in the company car sector – as seen in Belgium which has attractive depreciation rates for EVs and is phasing out depreciation for combustion engines. Lucien Mathieu, cars director at T&E, said: “Germany is the sick man of Europe when it comes to electric cars. Meanwhile, markets which have strong, predictable incentives for EV adoption are reaping the rewards. Germany’s CDU lawmakers in Brussels should stop trying to weaken the EU’s 2035 target and instead actually promote electric vehicles.” Transport & Environment (T&E) Deutschland Julia Poliscanova #ElectricCars #Germany #Industry

A new study by Imperial College London has found that higher flying aircraft create longer lasting contrails and thus likely more warming. However, long-haul flights, which usually operate at higher altitudes, have been excluded from the scope of the EU non-CO2 emissions monitoring mechanism, overlooking two thirds of aviation’s contrail climate impact. T&E calls upon the EU Commission to listen to the growing number of arguments underlying the need to reverse to the original full scope agreed by co-legislators. The IC study has also confirmed the link between jet fuel composition and contrail climate impact, showing SAFs, and while their production is being scaled up, jet fuels that are high quality, low-aromatic and low-sulfur, such as those created through hydrotreatment, are crucial. See our comments and the whole story in @newscientist 👇 👇 https://lnkd.in/egVtkr9k

NEW: Today’s biggest cruise ships are more than twice as big as they were in 2000. At the current rate of growth, the biggest cruise ships in 2050 could become almost 8x bigger than the Titanic. These “Cruisezillas” are bringing an explosion in emissions, made worse by a rapid growth in the number of cruise holidays. Emissions from cruise ships were already nearly 20% higher in 2022 than in 2019, while the number of cruise ships globally rose from 21 in 1970 to 515 today. Cruise liners should use their ballooning profits to invest in green technologies that reduce their impact on the plant and local air pollution, while not getting distracted by fake solutions like LNG. Meanwhile, cruise ships pay no fuel duty or most corporate and consumer taxes. Adding just a €50 tax on a typical cruise ticket worth around €1400 would bring in €1.4 billion globally, which could be invested in developing clean fuels. Read the full report at the link in our comments. #CruiseShips #GreenFuels

How can Europe unlock its train travel potential? A recent report from Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe analysed 990 potential train routes between 45 major European cities and found that only 114 are served by direct train connections. Even in Vienna – the city with the most direct train connections – direct trains only run on 59% of possible routes. By starting daytime services or night trains on 305 of these routes, the EU could triple the number of direct rail connections available between major cities. The best part? These train tracks already exist. It’s now on the EU to incentivise rail operators to put these routes to use and usher in a new era of convenient, affordable train travel in Europe. Read the report from Greenpeace at the link in our comments. #Rail #EuropeanTravel #SustainableTransport

The low-cost model is driving unsustainable growth in the aviation sector at a time when we need to urgently be addressing the climate impact of travel. Meanwhile, thanks to tax exemptions and loopholes in carbon pricing schemes, legacy European carriers like Air France and Lufthansa paid for between as little as 7 and 16% of their emissions in 2023. The limited scope of European carbon markets means as much as 78% of aviation's total CO2 emissions were not paid for last year. The system is falling short when it comes to incentivising a shift away from fossil flying. This situation where a passenger pays more for their coffee at the airport than the airline pays for its pollution must come to an end. #Aviation #Pollution #CarbonPricing #LowCostAirline

Today, organizations from across the globe launched the hashtag #BeyondMethanePledge to stop the expansion of Liquefied Natural Gas #LNG and other #methane-based fuels, and phase-out their use in all sectors by 2030. Press release: https://lnkd.in/g9H4G8Z9 🛳 We call on industry leaders to sign the pledge and take immediate action. Signatories include policymakers, cities, ports, ship and cargo owners, investors, and financial institutions. 📢 We call on supporters to champion the pledge to mobilize the masses and hold industry accountable. Champions include residents, advocacy groups, non-governmental organizations, researchers and academic institutions, journalists, and thought leaders. Sign and champion the pledge: https://lnkd.in/grhJiiKY Founding champions: Pacific Environment Clean Arctic Alliance Transport & Environment (T&E) Solutions for Our Climate (기후솔루션) NABU e.V. Stand.earthClean Shipping Coalition

📣 📣 Take action against methane now! 🚀 We're launching The Beyond Methane Pledge with Say No to LNG – Global Shipping Campaign and six other CSOs, calling on industry leaders across the LNG infrastructure chain to reject LNG and other methane-based fuels as a climate solution. ❌ LNG is not a sustainable fuel, but has severe impacts on the climate, environment and public health. That's why we're calling on industry leaders to pledge to: ⛽ Halt expansion of LNG and methane-based fuels immediately, including infrastructure and project financing. 📉 Phase out use of LNG and other methane-based fuels by 2030. 🪟 Promote transparency by using language that reflects the climate impact of methane and the full lifecycle emissions of LNG and other methane-based fuels. Signatories will safeguard investments against stranded LNG assets, ensure regulatory compliance, strengthen accountability, and position themselves as climate leaders. ✒️ Sign the pledge now: https://lnkd.in/e-kneeuV 📰 And read more about the climate impact of methane here: https://lnkd.in/eaDPUPXj Stand.earth Anna Barford Sian Prior Clean Arctic Alliance Sönke Felix Diesener NABU e.V. Constance Dijkstra Transport & Environment (T&E) Delaine McCullough Clean Shipping Coalition Mandeera Wijetunga Pacific Environment #StopLNG #SayNoToLNG #MethaneEmissions #ClimateJustice #ClimateAction

Will Ursula von der Leyen's second term finally be the moment to turn simplified cross-border travel into a reality? Creating an online platform where Europeans can buy one single ticket for train travel across the continent was one of the Commission President's proposals offered during her reelction bid. But this isn't the first time the Commission has tried to tackle this problem. T&E and others have been urging the Commission to create such a platform. The previously proposed Multimodal Digital Mobility Services Regulation (MDMS) would have been one such solution, offering a place to buy single ticket for cross-border train travel. But delay after delay has put this dream on hold. Can von der Leyen finally pull it off in her next term? Read more in the article from Euractiv 👇 https://lnkd.in/eQ8B2Dw6 #Rail #MDMS #EuropeanCommission

New research out now from RMI outlines the problem with contrails in aviation and what we can do to address it. This is a positive first step in showing how contrail avoidance can tackle aviation’s warming impact. But this can only come to life with serious regulation to monitor, assess and avoid these effects if aviation wants to reduce its climate impact this decade. Learn more by checking out the report 👇

Flying taxis were introduced as the urban mobility solution of the future. But what exactly are they, and are they really the solution to aviation’s climate problem we should be focusing our attention on? (Spoiler: the answer is no.) As the 2024 Olympic Games kick off in Paris, these aircraft – called eVTOLs – have been getting lots of coverage as many of the main manufacturers plan to show them off to the public during the event. eVTOLs are electric two-seater aircraft that can take off and land vertically, similar to a private helicopter. Completely electric, these luxury jets were celebrated as a win for sustainable aviation. However, the reality is that they are solving a problem that never really existed in the first place and will only be used by a wealthy few to skip traffic. The flying taxis craze is a great example of why we shouldn’t be getting swept up in fake solutions to decarbonise aviation that will actually only benefit the rich. Instead, the sector should focus its time and resources to develop cleaner solutions that actually tackle aviation’s climate impact – sufficient quantities of sustainable aviation fuel or hydrogen-powered planes. Marte van der Graaf #eVTOL #FlyingTaxi #SustainableAviation #ParisOlympics