Brussels, 8 April 2024
Many thanks for joining today’s Clean Transition Dialogue on Transport and Mobility. We have representatives from ports and shipyards, trains and airlines, cars, busses, trucks, and the very important recharging infrastructure and the alternative fuels producers. We also have the other side, the consumers, the financing system and the social partners. So a wide group of stakeholders here for this Clean Transition Dialogue. It is an incredibly important sector, as we all know. It is round about 5% of our GDP in the European Union. 10 million jobs are connected to it. And of course, it is an enormous driver of innovation. Just think about driverless vehicles or the digitised traffic management systems. This shows how innovative the sector is.
We are here because we are in a very special time. As we all know, climate change is progressing. We just have to look out of the window. I was yesterday in Athens; it was over 30 degrees Celsius and this at the beginning of April. They say that is fine for July but not for the beginning of April. And this is the easier to bear side, because the reaction to sunshine is always: ‘Oh, nice weather today.’ But we also know that with progressing climate change, we have extreme weather events, we have droughts, floods and wildfires. So we know that we are in a race against time. On the other hand, we also know that we have the tools to mitigate climate change. And one of the tools is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And we know that transport accounts for round about a quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions, here in the European Union. So our task together is: If we want to mitigate the risks, if we want to stick to our goals, we have to work on accelerating cleaner transport. And I know you are all dedicated towards that goal. So I really want to praise that and I want to thank you.
For us, it is important to, on the one hand, protect climate and nature, but on the other hand, of course to be competitive. And I think this can go very well together, this can be reconciled. Because if you look at the rest of the world, you see how strong a driver of innovation clean transport is. So we want to be the front-runners with new technologies to dominate the market, now and in the future. And this is the task we have ahead of us.
The first steps are taken. In this mandate, we have created the legal framework. All of our Member States have cast in law that by 2050 we want to be climate neutral. So the direction of travel is not only agreed, but it is cast in law. That is very important. It is important for investment decisions, and it is important for predictability and reliability for those who invest in a certain direction for the future. And in the European Union, we have clarified that there is an agreement with all Member States to reach climate neutrality by 2050. If we want to reach that, we have to cut transport emissions by round about 90%. It is quite a challenge. Now, we have in place the Emissions Trading System. And the interesting and good part about the Emissions Trading System is that it is completely market-driven, it nudges innovation. It says: You want to pollute? Fine – you pay. You do not want to pay? Well, innovate, but it is up to you how you move forward. And looking backwards, we see the enormous success that we have had with the Emissions Trading System, regarding innovation. And it is now expanded to aviation and shipping. So it is very important for you.
We have started the large-scale production of more sustainable fuels. I know you need a huge amount of access to clean energy and feedstocks, and you need considerable amounts of renewable and low-carbon fuels. So there is quite a way to go. And we are accelerating the deployment of charging infrastructure across our continent.
Now, we have to implement the legislative framework. And here comes now the Clean Transition Dialogue. The framework is clear. For the implementation we are writing the so-called guidelines, for tailor-made on the ground. And here for the sector, we need to hear from you what you need to get there, so that we can put that in our guidelines and make your life easier. Therefore, this Clean Transition Dialogue is important. We want to listen, and we want to understand what you need to reach the commonly agreed goals and to maintain or even increase your competitiveness. That is basically the task of the day.
I want to briefly focus on infrastructure, clean fuels and supply chain. Let me start with infrastructure – of course the backbone of our transport system. I spoke about climate change and extreme weather events, and we should always keep in mind that new infrastructure should be climate-proof, so more resilient against evermore extreme weather events. We have to invest big. It is big numbers that are needed, and we have to invest smart, of course. If I look at the figures from our Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, until 2030 at least EUR 100 billion per year are needed for transport infrastructure investment alone. And our contribution, among others, the main contribution, comes with the European Fund for the Trans-European Transport Network. You know, it supports all the transport modes. It sets out, for example, that all major European airports have to be connected by long-distance rail. And we have our European transport corridors across the continent that should make freight and passenger transport smoother and more efficient. Commissioner Adina Vălean will deep-dive in these topics together with you.
We are also working hard to accelerate the deployment of our recharging and refuelling infrastructure. You are familiar with AFIR, the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation. The good part is it sets binding targets for Europe’s Member States. So here too, regulatory stability for long-term investments and predictability with legally binding goals for all Member States. So you can rely on the direction of travel and significant investments are flowing. We have dedicated EUR 1.3 billion to recharging and refuelling infrastructure and we are counting on leveraging this five times as much with private investment. We are helping to deliver clean electricity to nearly 60 ports and over 50 airports. In other words, there is a lot on the move at the moment being. And again, Adina, you will deep-dive.
My second point is on clean fuels. I had the pleasure and the honour, I must say, last year to christen the world’s first methanol-powered container in Copenhagen. So for me, it was an amazing moment because I was told by the management that when they started to order the first ship – it must be now more than ten years ago –, it was a bad business case. But they wanted to test whether it is possible to have a methanol-powered container ship. It took them eight to ten years to have it. In the meantime, of course all the things you witnessed happened and we put in place the European Green Deal, and they said this turned a completely bad business case into an excellent business case because, all of a sudden, with alternative fuels they were front-runner and could show to the world that they are on the right move. For me, it was very interesting to hear. So the technology to decarbonise shipping is advancing. I am aware that this is not trivial. It is very complex, and you know all the details. The same goes for aviation. But we are already supporting 120 projects on sustainable aviation fuels across Europe. So a lot is happening, that is the innovative part here. In addition, we have two flagship projects in Africa and India, because we will also have to import alternative sustainable aviation fuels. The priority must be to scale up, scale up, scale up. That is the big task that we have. So we do not only need innovation, we need speed.
And my last point is a topic that concerns the whole industry in the European Union: This is stable and reliable supply chains. Here, I am talking about green steel, batteries, other critical components. When I started my mandate, we had zero projects of clean steel in the European Union. Today, we have 50, and these are 50 out of 80 worldwide. So we have the big share of interesting clean steel projects in the European Union. This is a good sign. We have the world’s first large-scale factory for clean steel in Sweden. As of next year, they will supply car makers with high-quality, low-carbon steel and affordable – both points are important. So a lot is on the move there too. The same is true for European battery production. Executive Vice President Šefčovič will deep-dive into that topic. You have built the whole, let us say, framework that is necessary around it, and it is very fascinating to look at companies like Northvolt with clean, efficient battery technologies. There is a lot that is happening right now.
My third point – and that is what I am talking about – you need the components and the reliable supply chains. That also goes for critical raw materials. That is a topic for the whole industry. A few words on that one: We have learnt a very bitter lesson with our over-dependency on Russian gas, on a single supplier, where we thought it would be reliable. You know the history around it. We have learnt a bitter lesson, but we have completely diversified away from Russia, and we have been able to invest massively in alternative energy suppliers, like renewable energy. The next topic where we have to be very careful are the critical raw materials. Here, the challenge is that China, over 20 to 30 years, has strategically organised the whole critical raw materials scene globally. China basically owns the vast majority of mines worldwide, gets the raw material, processes it in China, basically has a monopoly for some of the critical raw materials and is supplying the world. Here too, we are very active. Most of my travels to other regions of the world are accompanied by signing contracts, MoUs, you name it, for critical raw materials. Where we are different from China is that we tell our new partners: ‘Look, we do not want to take the raw product, we help you to establish the value chain locally in your country. So the added value stays with you. But we want to diversify the supply, and we want to strengthen our supply chains.’ So, more suppliers, so that you lower the risk of over-dependency as it is here, and this also goes specifically for the critical raw materials.
As I said, this was a broad brush to paint the picture we are in today. The frame is set. Again, our question is: What can we do to help you and support you to reach our goals? What is typical for your sector that is different from other sectors that we have to keep in mind or where we specifically have to support you? Again, a very warm welcome, it is good to have you here.”
Source – EU Commission