EC Launches Projects to Study Sustainable Transport
March 21, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS
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The European Commission (EC) recently launched two research projects to address the issue of sustainable transport.
The first, called Transport and Environment: An Integrated Analysis (TRAENVIA), will assess and compare the environmental and socio-economic impacts of difference transport modes along the extended Trans-European Corridor V, which runs from Lisbon to Kiev.
The second is the Collaborative Research Project for Air Pollution Reduction in Lombardia, which will focus on particulate matter and emission remediation options for that region of Italy.
Both projects are coordinated by the EC's in-house scientific service, Directorate-General Joint Research Centre, and are part of the EC's efforts to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The two projects were launched during a conference on Transport and Environment: A Global Challenge - Technological and Policy Solutions, which took take place in Milan on March 19-21.
"We need to tackle the issue of sustainable transport head on," said Janez Potočnik, EC commissioner for science and research. "In the EU [European Union], transport is responsible for about one-third of all toxic substances and CO2 released into the atmosphere, and this will increase significantly if we don't act now. The projects launched today are a good step in the right direction."
Stavros Dimas, EC environment commissioner, said, "Air quality has a direct impact on the health of EU citizens. In the Po valley, air pollution reduces life expectancy by on average more than a year due to fine particles. It is the responsibility of national, regional and local authorities to protect their citizens and develop the most effective local measures."
TRAENVIA is part of the EC's innovative approach to tackling sustainable transport and is using the extended Trans-European Corridor V as a case study. The project will study new concepts for all types of surface transport, such as road, rail and waterborne, and will look to find the appropriate balance and integration among them. Countries participating in the project are Slovenia, Spain, Italy, France, Hungary, Portugal and Ukraine.
Work is already underway to measure and compare emissions from different transport modes, taking elements such as traffic congestion, border crossing, toll stations and traffic flow into account. This project will also assess the potential environmental benefits from non-road transport and new technologies such as alternative fuels, hydrogen fuel and new kinds of engines.
The second project will advance scientific understanding of air pollution. Areas of high average gross domestic product (GDP), such as Lombardy, have a high demand for transport, which in turn has negative environmental and health effects. Levels of particulate matter and ozone are critically high in this region, so the project should provide scientific support to design and implement air quality strategies for the region that could also be used elsewhere in the EU.
The EC will also be supporting research into sustainable transport with the Seventh Research Framework Programme, which has allocated €4.1 billion for transport research over the next seven years. A call for proposals on a number of relevant topics is currently open, with a closing date of May 3, 2007.
The Milan conference brought together environmental experts and policy-makers from across the EU to discuss issues related to sustainable transport and environment. For more information on the Milan conference, see Transport and Environment: A Global Challenge. For background information on the research projects, see MEMO07/108.
Source: European Commission.