The report of the task force, which was convened in 2011, brought together the views of a diverse group of stakeholders, including the car and oil industries, business associations, international organizations, EU member states and NGOs.

The report argues that the biggest component of total transport reductions could come from more energy-efficient vehicles, combined with the gradual introduction of low-carbon fuels and new engine technologies. Eco-driving and efficient transport systems could provide for the other—much smaller shares—of reductions.

Key messages and findings for the report include:

• The key policy for reducing GHG emissions in road transport is the steady tightening of emissions standards in line with the technological frontier. The steady tightening of standards will first incentivize combustion efficiency and in parallel speed up the deployment of new low-carbon technologies and fuels, such as vehicles running on low-carbon electricity, hydrogen, compressed natural gas or sustainable biofuels. These technologies will be needed to progressively meet standards.

• Measures to promote energy-efficient vehicles and low-carbon technology should be based on the full life-cycle (well-to-wheel) as far as is practicably possible. Until methodologies for calculating well-to-wheel emissions are agreed upon, the most appropriate way will be to regulate energy efficiency per vehicle combined with the CO₂ content of the fuel, based on practical methodology. As the standards’ stringency increases, so does the need for an effective combination of both fuel and vehicle standards, based on well-to- wheel emissions.

• Setting clear standards for vehicle efficiency and fuels allow manufacturers of cars and other vehicles to anticipate the direction of future standards. Such standards are effective in overcoming barriers to the introduction of more efficient vehicles and fuels, while creating regulatory certainty for product developers and manufacturers.

• To reinforce the incentives from emissions standards, member state governments can differentiate existing transport taxes according to the CO₂ emissions of vehicles and the energy content and CO₂ emissions of fuels. Leverage can be enhanced by local and city governments’ incentives for efficient and low-carbon vehicles in line with local circumstances and choices, on condition that the structure of incentives—not the level—is aligned across the EU, i.e. that vehicles are labelled across Europe in a harmonized way according to carbon-efficiency, or whatever other measure or metric the EU will choose after 2020.

• The report identified five main technology paths towards low-carbon transport. Improving the energy efficiency of vehicles (including hybridization) has “huge potential”, both in the short and long run. The other four are electric, and plug-in hybrid and hybrid vehicles, using electricity from low-carbon sources; hydrogen vehicles fueled from renewable or zero GHG sources; gas vehicles using natural gas and biogas; and biofuels with a positive well-to-wheel effect on GHG emissions.

  The Task Force strongly recommended focusing on incentives to reduce well-to-wheel emissions of GHGs in a technologically neutral way instead of stimulating specific technologies.

  By using technology-neutral incentives, in the long run the market forces will select the most efficient technologies. This should result in a fleet of vehicles with a much better energy efficiency using different low- carbon fuels for different applications, whatever the most cost-effective combination is. Focusing on one specific technology—e.g. electric vehicles—might slow down the transition to low-carbon transport. However, low-carbon transport technologies, which have network effects, i.e. require dedicated infrastructure, where research, demonstration and early deployment are too risky for private investors alone or where scale effects for new technologies (e.g. battery costs) exist, may require specially designed public support for a fixed, limited period of time.

  —CEPS report

• The transport system can become more energy and/or carbon efficient via higher load factors and occupancy rates; by co-modality combining different modes of transport; by better urban planning; and by reducing mileage. However, in the past this area has only yielded limited success because efficient shift gains were neutralized by volume growth and second, available policy measures (e.g. pricing, regulatory measures) were not used to their full potential.

• The Task Force estimated that a better transport system can reduce GHG emissions from transport to a considerable extent. Rational transport pricing should also ensure that each mode pays for the full costs, including externalities, and provide sources for infrastructure investment. This should include carbon and energy taxing, for example, as proposed in the amendment of the Energy Tax Directive.

• Full deployment of current technologies and further development of low- carbon technology are expected to take many years. Action now is crucial to show political commitment to the long-term target. Postponing policy development to beyond 2020 or even 2030 will undermine the credibility and predictability that transport providers, vehicle and fuels producers, technology providers or investors need.

The Task Force identified 15 measures towards low-carbon transport that can be taken immediately:

1. he EU should continue and accelerate setting predictable and progressively tightening CO₂ emissions standards for road vehicles and ships, where reduction potential exists.

2. Define a realistic test procedure and test cycle as close as practical to real world conditions, including accounting for carbon benefits of components.

3. The EU should expand the EU-wide labeling obligation for cars to include vans, and harmonize EU labeling systems.

4. Member states and, where appropriate, regional and local governments should differentiate sales, vehicle and company car taxes according to CO₂ emissions.

5. The EU and member states should use public procurement and incentives to fleet managers as tools to accelerate the deployment of more fuel-efficient vehicles and low-carbon fuels if these measures are cost-effective.

6. The EU should develop a commonly agreed GHG accounting methodology for logistics and, as far as possible, push for global methodologies.

7. The EU should allow for full cabotage—i.e., allowing national carriage of goods for hire or reward to be carriedout by non-resident haulers—in road transport.

8. The EU and member states should continue supporting the introduction of eco-driving systems in vehicles in order to change driving behavior and encourage continuous training.

9. The EU must push member states to align taxation levels of different fuels and vehicle types and stop indirect subsidies.

10. Member states should consider strategies to compensate for the taxation shortfall from fuels due to higher fuel economy by, for example, gradually adapting the minimum fuel tax level in the EU to increase incentives to shift to higher fuel economy and to keep total tax paid constant in real terms for both the consumer and the state revenues.

11. The EU and member states should maintain support for research, development and early deployment of the entire array of promising low-carbon technologies.

12. The EU should continue to implement an ambitious differentiated co- financing rate for low-carbon TEN-T projects.

13. The EU and member states should ensure that there is no further delay in the application of advanced communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS) systems and air traffic management (ATM) systems.

14. Member states, in co-operation with the EU, should improve walking and cycling facilities, co-modality and seamless transfer.

15. Member states should enforce speed limits in all modes.

Resources

• Pathways To Low Carbon Transport In The EU, From Possibility To Reality. Report Of The CEPS Task Force On Transport And Climate Change. (June 2013)