T&E

NEW: Half of new EU city buses were zero-emission in 2024, making city buses one of the early success stories of the European Green Deal. Uptake of fuel cell buses was even faster than expected and made up 3% of new EU city buses in 2024. Battery-electric remains the most popular, with a 46% share. This success is due to: 📈New EU regulation last year sending a clear market signal 🌆City level policies like zero-emission zones and bus fleets targets 🇪🇪Estonia saw the most improvement in 2024, with 84% of new city buses being battery-electric. 🇳🇱Looking at the past four years, however, the Netherlands comes out on top: less than 1% of new city buses have been diesel since 2021. It’s clear that the days of diesel buses are numbered. Read the full analysis at the link in the comments.

NEW: The EU Commission will propose a weakening of the 2025 car CO2 target. If implemented, it would delay the scale up of EV production in Europe and remove pressure on the industry to roll out cheaper EV models this year. william todts, executive director of T&E and participant in the EU Automotive Dialogue, said: “Weakening the EU clean car rules rewards laggards and does little for Europe’s car industry except to leave it further behind China on electric vehicles. The EU risks creating very damaging uncertainty about the electric vehicle transition in Europe. So, we expect an automotive action plan that restores confidence and puts Europe and its industry back on track towards 100% emission free cars in 2035.” Read our full reaction - link in the comments. #AutomotiveDialogue

Three reasons why the EU Automotive Plan should leave the car CO2 targets as is and instead support EV demand and local battery manufacturing: 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗻𝗼𝘄: Both EV production and sales are up in most markets as carmakers prepare to finally sell more of the mass market models drivers have been waiting for. But this momentum is at risk if policy-makers are pressured into weakening the 2025 EU target. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱: While EV sales are ticking up thanks to affordable European models hitting the market, lawmakers can help speed things up: corporate fleets should be required to go electric, as Commissioner Tzitzikostas has already committed. In addition, the EU can support member states in providing stable EV incentives. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: The EU is exposing itself to trade, geopolitical and security risks if it can’t develop local expertise to produce the energy transition’s core technology. Trade defence measures, FDI rules to ensure skills and technology transfers, better directed state aid, and an eco-score to promote cleaner locally-made batteries – these should all be in the Commission’s toolbox. Read more in Julia Poliscanova (she/her)'s blog. Link in comments.

🤦♀️The UK has essentially greenlit a second runway at Gatwick airport. While the government opted to delay the final decision until late October, it issued a “minded to approve” letter, setting it on the path to expansion. This could enable 100,000 more flights a year – totally incompatible with the UK’s net-zero by 2050. Just this week the CCC published its 7th carbon budget report, showing that by 2040 aviation will be the highest emitting sector in the UK. The reality is that flying less is the most effective way to reduce aviation emissions now. We should be focusing on limiting growth in demand, not giving the green light to yet more airport expansion. Instead the investments should instead go towards establishing UK airports as hubs for green fuels, a technology that is crucial for slashing aviation emissions and which can deliver UK growth and jobs. 🔗Article linked in the comments.

The EU today announced plans to boost green aviation and shipping fuels, but also sent a worrying signal on its 2040 climate goal. New EU plans to lower energy costs by doubling down on deployment of renewable electricity, and to activate more investment and trade instruments to scale clean-tech, are welcome. However, more than one year after confirming that it will publish a 2040 emissions reduction target for the EU, the European Commission today failed to release a proposal as planned. Any climb-down from the expected -90% target would deprive European carmakers, airlines and shipping companies of the investment certainty that clean technology is here to stay. Other announcements today included a Clean Industrial Deal that will prioritise the domestic production of renewable fuels for aviation and shipping. However, the EU Commission also rushed out new proposals to weaken the sustainability reporting rules that hold companies accountable for their environmental and social impacts. Read our take on the EU Clean Industrial Deal, Action Plan for Affordable Energy, and Omnibus proposal 👇 https://lnkd.in/eMvCrGsY

If only there was a way for the British government to find a billion pounds at no cost to the taxpayer or consumers? Oh wait.. Every year £1bn is lost at sea as the government does not charge for shipping emissions - something the EU has been doing since last year. Charging ships for their fair share of UK shipping emissions is a win-win for the exchequer. The costs would mostly be borne by large, international ship operators. These companies are highly profitable. These charges would be peanuts to them but would provide the government with significant funds to pay for public services or scale up green technologies. Read our latest report ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ecF5mTTi

NEW: Sales of EVs by European carmakers grew 51% last month compared to one year ago while the overall EV market grew by 34%: 📈VW +120% thanks to the performance of the ID family 🆙Renault +90% largely due to the R5 (Scope: 20 EU countries + Norway.) Carmakers have started to boost BEV sales in preparation for the EU's 2025 CO2 target. This growth includes more affordable models from some carmakers. They are expected to gradually increase EV sales over the course of the year IF the CO2 regulation is not weakened by lawmakers. The EU needs to stay the course on 2025!

Tomorrow the European Commission is poised to publish its first Omnibus proposal streamlining green rules to boost competitiveness. They’ll start by changing sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements. This would weaken rules that hold companies accountable for their environmental and social impacts. Transparency isn’t a burden; it helps companies attract investment, making them more competitive. Arbitrary legislative changes will confuse the market and risk delaying other important laws like the EU Batteries Regulation. Public interest campaigns like Travel Smart Campaign use sustainability information to evaluate companies' sustainability targets and performance in reducing emissions. Dismantling these requirements would still allow companies to announce their sustainability plans and use them as marketing weapons and then fail to implement them. And for example to publicly announce that they are reducing business flying without any concrete evidence of doing so. Rather than dismantling green finance laws, the focus should be on smart implementation: streamlining rules with sector-specific standards and clear guidelines to help businesses put rules into practice. The Commission must work to achieve simplification without deregulation and protect the robust framework that positions Europe as a leader in sustainable finance. Read the op-ed by Giorgia Ranzato ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dpDZXyzk #Omnibus

The new edition of Lead The Charge's annual ranking of automakers shows that progress is being made in reducing emissions and environmental harm while upholding human rights in the supply chain. But it hasn't gone far enough. The good news: Industry scores increased by 3% on average, with the biggest gains coming from climate (8%), human rights (8%), and responsible transition mineral sourcing (5%) - all key areas shaped by new EU regulations. But no automaker scored above 50%. By adopting existing best practices from peers, companies could boost their scores to over 70%. Some key takeaways: 🚨Regulations like the EU Battery Regulation and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) are driving progress. Any simplification of this regulation must not come at the expense of progress to clean up the supply chain. 🚨Even non-EU automakers are improving in these areas - but EU carmakers remain ahead, showing the competitive advantage of strong sustainability policies. 🚨The European Commission must support companies with clear guidelines, tools, and oversight. The message is clear: EU policies are working. Now is the time to implement them, not roll them back. Explore the entire automaker supply chain Leaderboard ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ds-9wBxc

Last week T&E brought together policymakers and aviation industry leaders to discuss how to overcome the challenges to the uptake of e-SAF in Europe. If the EU wants to become a leader on green aviation, it must use this critical moment to kickstart domestic production of e-fuels. As Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said: "We need to make bold investments today to take advantage of this opportunity tomorrow." Many thanks to the over 100 in-person and over 300 online attendees of this timely and engaging debate about the future of e-SAF in Europe. 🎥Did you miss the event? Watch the full recording on our YouTube channel, link in the comments. #eSAF #CleanIndustrialDeal François Kalfon Ourania Georgoutsakou Cathryn Estes Alexander Kerst Erwin Nederkoorn Project SkyPower