European Environment Agency publishes 2013 transport report

The European Environment Agency (EEA) has released the 2013 edition of the annual ‘Transport and Environment Reporting Mechanism (TERM)’, which presents a comprehensive analysis of transport’s effect on the environment in the European Union.

The report states that the transport sector of many European cities is changing, with cycling and efficient public transport becoming the norm, yet transport is still a major contributor to excessive levels of greenhouse gases, air pollution and noise.

Road transport is a significant source of air pollution in cities, leading to a high proportion of the population being exposed to pollutant levels above EU and World Health Organization standards. Traffic noise is also a health issue in many cities, with more than a quarter of the inhabitants of Sofia, Luxembourg, Paris and Tallinn exposed to night-time traffic noise above WHO limits. Meanwhile, commuters in London and Budapest are most likely to travel more than an hour to work.

But many cities have improved the urban environment by not only encouraging people to switch to non-motorised modes and public transport, but also restricting car use. The report notes that such schemes go on to become popular with residents, citing the example of Stockholm’s congestion charge, and argues that positive examples should encourage municipalities to replicate policies elsewhere.

“City life does not have to mean polluted air, congestion, noise and long travelling times,” said Hans Bruyninckx, EEA executive director. “New ideas in urban transport are transforming many cities into more pleasant, healthy places to live.”

Better cycling infrastructure in many cities is helping to increase bike traffic, the report notes, referring to the Copenhagenize Index of bicycle-friendly cities. Seville recently moved up to fourth place due to the extensive new infrastructure for bikes, which has allowed bike traffic to increase from 0.5% of kilometres travelled to 7% in just a few years.

The report did not focus solely on urban transport and found that overall (excluding international maritime transport), EU emissions from transport fell 0.6% between 2010 and 2011 but are still 25% above 1990 levels. And while car passenger transport has decreased slightly, Europeans’ plane travel reached an all-time high in 2011, with aviation emissions rising by 2.6% between 2010 and 2011.

New cars have become more efficient in line with EU legislation, though there have been some differences between real-world driving emissions and the emissions recorded in the test cycle. Furthermore, renewable energy in transport is not increasing fast enough - member states have agreed for renewable sources to make up 10% of energy consumed in transport, but in 2011 levels were at a 3.8% average across EU member states.

The report can be found at http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/term-2013/.

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