New report released by the World Bank Group: 'Enhancing Transport Decarbonisation in the European Union'

Chapter of interest: 'Creating Sustainable Urban and Metropolitan Mobility' from pages 31-38.

Report Summary:
The European Union (EU) has established itself as a global frontrunner in climate action, targeting a climate-neutral economy by 2050 with a sector-specific ambition to cut transport-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 90 percent from 1990 levels. Despite stringent regulatory requirements and a strong policy framework, transport emissions in the EU remain off track, highlighting the need for additional efforts to reverse this trend. Transport is the only major economic sector where GHG emissions remain above 1990 levels, with emissions in 2022 being 26 percent higher than in 1990, with road transport accounting for 73 percent of transport emissions. Analysis undertaken for this report suggests that meeting growing passenger and freight transport demand will require a new approach that complements existing efforts. This report highlights strategic areas of opportunity for the EU and its member states to use existing funds more efficiently while implementing public policies and incentives that can drive substantial progress toward meeting the EU’s transport decarbonization goals. The report targets the EU and its 27 member states, focusing on strategic policy actions to advance transport decarbonization. Recommended policy actions also target EU accession countries due to their close economic and geographical ties to the EU and their aspiration to become future EU member states. As part of this process, accession countries are mandated to align with the European Green Deal and transpose the EU acquis, making them strategic partners in achieving transport decarbonization goals. However, despite the direct influence of current EU policies and funding, the limitations in implementation are often more pronounced in accession countries because of financial and institutional capacity constraints. The World Bank, due to its firsthand experience and extensive engagement in these countries, is well positioned to provide targeted support to EU accession countries to overcome challenges and maximize opportunities presented by the implementation of transport decarbonization policies. This report focuses on three specific transport challenges that are critical for the EU’s transport decarbonisation trajectory: i) Accelerating the transition to zero-emission road transport technologies; ii) sustainable urban and metropolitan mobility; and iii) increasing the role of rail in helping decarbonise transport. While looking into these areas, a number of transversal actions to accelerate the decarbonisation of the transport sector emerge from the modelling and analysis undertaken for this report. This represents a paradigm shift, highlighting the crucial role of innovative financing sources and the need to ensure better results from EU funding. These can be organized around four key themes for action: (i) the need to better leverage the private sector; (ii) de-risking mechanisms to crowd in private capital; (iii) conditioning the use of EU funds to deliver results at scale; and (iv) rethinking the role of climate finance and the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).