On March 28, 2011, the European Commission published a new White Paper entitled: Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area – Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system.
This is a far-reaching document with very ambitiously defined goals. The overarching objective of future actions is to ultimately create a single European transport area. This is intended to be an area where the transport sector will be characterized by a high level of competitiveness and, additionally, will be very efficient in its use of non-renewable natural resources. Achieving this goal is to take place by 2050, and will be possible through the implementation of the following 10 specific objectives:
1. Halve the use of ‘conventionally-fuelled’ cars (non-hybrid vehicles with internal combustion engines) in urban transport by 2030 and phase them out in cities by 2050. Achieve CO2-free city logistics in major urban centers by 2030.
2. Achieve a 40% use of sustainable low-carbon fuels in aviation by 2050. Reduce CO2 emissions from maritime bunker fuels by 40% (or 50% where feasible) also by 2050.
3. Shift 30% of road freight over 300 km to other modes such as rail or waterborne transport by 2030, and more than 50% by 2050. This will be facilitated by creating efficient, green transport corridors. However, their creation requires the development of appropriate infrastructure.
4. Complete the European high-speed rail network by 2050. This is to be achieved by tripling the length of the existing high-speed rail network by 2030 while maintaining a dense railway network in all Member States. Furthermore, by 2050, the majority of medium-distance passenger transport should be performed by rail.
5. By 2030, complete a fully functional, multimodal ‘core network’ of the TEN-T, covering the entire EU area, and by 2050, achieve high capacity and quality of this network, along with a complementary set of appropriate information services.
6. Connect all core network airports to the rail network; it is desirable that this be a high-speed rail network. Ensure that all major seaports are well-connected to the rail freight network and, where possible, to the inland waterway system.
7. Implement modernized air traffic management infrastructure (SESAR) by 2020 and complete the Single European Sky. Deploy adequate traffic management systems in individual transport sectors – ERTMS, ITS, SSN, LRIT, RIS and launch the Galileo system by 2020.
8. Establish a framework for a European information, management, and payment system by 2020.
9. Move close to zero fatalities in road transport by 2050, with the goal of halving the number of road casualties by 2020. The EU should become a world leader in safety and security across all modes of transport.
10. Finally, implement the ‘user pays’ and ‘polluter pays’ principles and engage the private sector to eliminate distortions, such as harmful subsidies, and generate revenue to ensure funding for future transport investments.
One can, of course, argue about the selection of goals and individual values (for example, the share of low-carbon fuels) that were assumed to be achieved in these objectives; however, their implementation will make transport in the EU significantly more energy-efficient and much less burdensome to the natural environment. It is precisely such a transport system that will allow for the practical implementation of the principle of sustainable development. What, then, will be the impact of implementing the provisions of the latest White Paper on the Polish transport system?
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 4/2011.