PROJECT MENAGMENT

Jakub Dróżdż

Administrator

Dołączył: 2019-06-12

Liczba postów: 3

The increase in emissions from transport

Achieving this goal will not be easy, however, because the emission reduction rate is slower. Since 1990, emissions have been reduced in other sectors, but due to increasing human mobility, CO2 emissions from transport have increased.

Efforts to improve fuel efficiency in new cars have also weakened. After a continuous decline in 2017, newly registered cars emitted on average 0.4 g CO2 per kilometer more than in 2016.

To reverse this trend, the EU is proposing new CO2 targets to reduce harmful emissions from new cars and vans. MEPs adopted new regulations on 27 March. In addition, MEPs approved on April 18 a regulation limiting CO2 emissions for new heavy duty vehicles by 30% by 2030, compared to the level of emissions from 2019.

CO2 emissions from passenger transport vary greatly depending on the type of transport. Passenger cars are the main source of pollution, accounting for 60.7% of all CO2 emissions from road transport in Europe.

Nevertheless, modern cars could be one of the cleanest modes of transport if more than one person rode them, not just the driver.

With an average of 1.7 passengers per car in Europe, other types of transport, such as buses, are now an ecologically cleaner alternative.

Electric cars are gaining in popularity, but are they cleaner?

There are two ways to reduce CO2 emissions from cars: increasing vehicle efficiency or changing the fuel used. Currently, most cars in Europe are fueled by petrol (52%), but electric cars are gaining more and more popularity.

Despite the small market share (about 1.5% of registered new vehicles), the number of registrations of new electric cars in the EU has been steadily increasing in recent years. Sales increased by 51% in 2017 compared to 2016.

In the question "How much CO2 does the car produce?", It is necessary to consider not only how much CO2 is emitted during use, but also emissions due to its production and permanent storage.

The production and permanent storage of an electric car is less ecological than a car with an internal combustion engine, and the level of emissions from electric cars varies depending on the way in which electricity is produced.

However, given the average energy mix in Europe, electric cars are already turning out to be ecologically cleaner than petrol-powered vehicles. Due to the fact that the share of electricity from renewable sources will grow in the future, electric cars will become even less harmful to the environment.

infographic on CO2 emission in the European Union
CO2 emissions by fuel type and for electric cars
Other EU actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

In the Paris climate agreement, the EU pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 in all economic sectors compared to 1990 levels.

In addition to setting targets for car emissions, MEPs have adopted the following measures to help the EU meet these commitments:

EU system of emissions trading from industry
Binding national greenhouse gas emission reduction targets from non-industrial sectors
How to use forests in the EU to balance CO2 emissions