Sustainable and smart mobility strategy

Putting European transport on track for the future

In December 2020 the European Commission presented its ‘Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy’ together with an Action Plan of 82 initiatives that will guide the EU transport system for the next four years towards its green and digital transformation. The Strategy offers an inspiring perspective of the future: transport must decarbonise and improve its sustainability in line with the 2050 climate neutrality target, while mobility remains available and affordable to all citizens in the EU. The result will be a 90% cut in Greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

All transport modes need to become more sustainable. This will be possible with the use of green alternatives that are widely available and with the right incentives put in place to drive the transition. Supporting this message Commissioner for Transport Adina Vālean said: “As the backbone that connects European citizens and business, transport matters to us all. We have no time to lose in getting it fit for the future. Digital technologies have the potential to revolutionize the way we move, making our mobility smarter, more efficient, and also greener. We need to provide business a clear pathway for the green investments they will need to make over the coming decades. Through the implementation of this strategy, we will create an irreversible shift to zero-emission mobility while making our transport system more efficient and resilient.”

In the journey towards a smart and sustainable future the European Commission foresees concrete milestones organized in 10 key areas for actions, each with concrete measures:

By 2030:

• At least 30 million zero-emission cars will be in operation on European roads
• 100 European cities will be climate neutral.
• High-speed rail traffic will double across Europe
• Scheduled collective travel for journeys under 500 km should be carbon neutral
• Automated mobility will be deployed at large scale
• Zero-emission marine vessels will be market-ready

By 2035:

• Zero-emission large aircraft will be market-ready

By 2050:

• Nearly all cars, vans, buses as well as new heavy-duty vehicles will be zero-emission.
• Rail freight traffic will double.
• A fully operational, multimodal Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) for sustainable and smart transport with high-speed connectivity.

The ‘Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy’ aims for the transport and mobility sector to be Sustainable, Smart and Resilient. In practice this will mean among other things, zero-emissions vehicles, vessels and airplanes, renewable & low carbon fuels and related infrastructure. Innovation and digitalization for connection and automated multimodal mobility and the use of data and artificial intelligence. As well as measures to support the transport sector after the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, for it to be able to build back better ensuring safety and security across all modes.

The HIGFLY project is completely committed to making aviation a greener sector and addresses EU priorities by developing the next generation of technologies for the production of advanced bio jet fuels from abundant and sustainable biomass feedstocks. HIGFLY’S technologies have the potential to contribute to decreasing emissions equivalent to approximately 20% of aviation-based GHGs in the EU.

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/mobilitystrategy_en