159th CoR Plenary Session (31 January - 1 February 2024)

In July 2023, the Commission tabled a package of proposals for the greening of freight transport. Among the three proposals is one on improving the use of rail infrastructure capacity. The proposed text includes changes to the rules on the planning and allocation of railway infrastructure capacity, currently covered by Directive 2012/34/EU and Regulation (EU) No 913/2010. The aim of the changes is to allow rail infrastructure capacity and traffic to be managed more efficiently, thereby improving the quality of services and optimising the use of the railway network, accommodating larger volumes of traffic and ensuring that the transport sector contributes to decarbonisation.

In July 2023, the Commission tabled a package of three proposals for the greening of freight transport. Among them is a proposal for a single methodology for calculating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transport services, referred to as CountEmissionsEU. The initiative covers both freight and passenger transport. It aims to ensure that the GHG emissions data provided regarding transport services is reliable and accurate, to allow fair comparison between transport services. It establishes a methodological framework but does not govern where it has to be used. Nonetheless, if an organisation decides to calculate and disclose information on GHG emissions from transport services it needs to use the methodology provided. To avoid extra red tape for SMEs, the proposal exempts these companies from mandatory verification of adherence to the rules.

The impact assessment (IA) provides a useful information package supporting the 'CountEmissionsEU' proposal. It presents a substantiated problem definition and illustrates the scale of the problems. The analysis relies on an external IA supporting study, stakeholder consultation and independent research. The IA assesses the economic, social and environmental impacts of all six policy options. It openly explains the assessment's limitations, in particular the fact that empirical evidence to underpin the relationship between GHG emissions accounting, changes in transport activity, decrease in GHG emissions and air pollutant emissions is scarce. In addition, the IA stresses that there is considerable uncertainty regarding the estimates that depend on behavioural change towards more sustainable solutions.

In July 2023 the Commission tabled a package of proposals for the greening of freight transport. Among the three proposals is one on the revision of the Weights and Dimensions Directive, which sets limits for heavy goods vehicles in international road transport. The proposal seeks to further promote use of zero-emission trucks by allowing these to exceed the standard weight limits. It also seeks to clarify the rules on use of heavier and longer vehicles in cross-border transport operations between countries where such vehicles are allowed, promote intermodal transport and simplify administrative procedures, while also improving enforcement of the rules.

Council Directive 92/106/EEC (the 'Combined Transport Directive') is one of the key EU legal instruments aimed at promoting the shift of freight from road to lower-emission transport modes. It supports the uptake of transport operations that combine road – on one or both ends of a journey – with rail or waterways, by providing advantages such as exemptions from restrictions (on weights and dimensions of vehicles or circulation) and tax reductions. The directive contributed to the development of the combined transport market in the EU. However, the uneven playing field for intermodal freight transport compared to road transport persists. As highlighted in the 2016 European Commission evaluation and the 2023 European Court of Auditors' special report, there is a significant margin to improve the directive's effectiveness. Some of its provisions are outdated, its scope is limited and its language is sometimes obsolete and ambiguous. In addition, the significant variation in Member States' transposition of the directive's provisions leads to uncertainty for combined transport operators.

Inspired by the discussions at the 8th Florence Intermodal Forum, this policy brief reflects on the various measures to green European cargo operations, with a focus on boosting the share of multimodal freight and creating a common carbon accounting framework.

Freight is the backbone of the EU’s Single Market – it keeps supermarkets, factories and pharmacies stocked, and enables European companies to sell their products across the continent – and beyond. Freight volumes are expected to rise – and with them – their CO2 emissions.

On 11 july 2023 the European Commission proposed measures to make freight transport more efficient and more sustainable, by improving rail infrastructure management, offering stronger incentives for low-emission lorries, and better information on freight transport greenhouse gas emissions. The aim is to increase efficiency within the sector, helping it to contribute to the target of cutting transport emissions by 90% by 2050, as set out in the European Green Deal, while allowing the EU single market to continue growing.