The European Commission presented its ‘Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy' together with an Action Plan of 82 initiatives that will guide our work for the next four years. This strategy

lays the foundation for how the EU transport system can achieve its green and digital transformation and become more resilient to future crises. As outlined in the European Green Deal, the result will be a 90% cut in emissions by 2050, delivered by a smart, competitive, safe, accessible and affordable transport system.

Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, said: “To reach our climate targets, emissions from the transport sector must get on a clear downward trend. Today's strategy will shift the way people and goods move across Europe and make it easy to combine different modes of transport in a single journey. We've set ambitious targets for the entire transport system to ensure a sustainable, smart, and resilient return from the COVID-19 crisis.”

Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean said: “As the backbone that connects European citizens and business, transport matters to us all. Digital technologies have the potential to revolutionise the way we move, making our mobility smarter, more efficient, and also greener. We need to provide businesses a stable framework for the green investments they will need to make over the coming decades. Through the implementation of this strategy, we will create a more efficient and resilient transport system, which is on a firm pathway to reduce emissions in line with our European Green Deal goals.”

Milestones for a smart and sustainable future 

All transport modes need to become more sustainable, with green alternatives widely available and the right incentives put in place to drive the transition. Concrete milestones will keep the European transport system's journey towards a smart and sustainable future on track:

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.

Photo by euranet_plus, Wikimedia commons.