European Commission must act now on urban contribution to climate change

Publication date: 22 April 2009

The European Commission must come forward with proposals for an Action Plan on Urban Mobility if it wants Europe to benefit from lower greenhouse gas emissions, according to an opinion adopted by the Committee of the Regions on Tuesday. The opinion, by rapporteur Sir Albert Bore (Member of Birmingham City Council, PES/UK), urges the Commission to make more funding available for cities looking to develop sustainable infrastructure and low-carbon vehicles in order not only to help reduce emissions but also to boost competitiveness and create jobs.

"The European Urban Mobility Strategy is a vital component of a climate change plan to reduce greenhouse gases from traffic. The CoR seeks improvements in urban mobility to support economic competitiveness, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, decarbonise transport, improve air quality and hence improve the quality of life of EU citizens in urban areas. It urges the EU to support the widespread adoption of Urban Mobility Plans, such as those already in place for many French and German cities. It also advocates a model where these plans are implemented via long-term public- public or public-private agreements called Mobility Agreements," said Sir Albert.

The CoR opinion proposes closer collaboration between the EU and the European Investment Bank to develop innovative financial instruments to fund sustainable urban mobility infrastructure and support public transport and investment in low carbon vehicles across the EU. "A step change is needed from exemplary European projects to a major rollout of improvements to reduce traffic congestion and greenhouse gases. The European Commission can add value to the process by funding initiatives, creating award schemes and exchanging best practice," Sir Albert added.

The opinion also supports the proposal for an annual European practice of rewarding outstanding and transferable transport initiatives and projects, along the lines of the 'blue flag' schemes used to denote Europe's cleanest beaches. "In future we should expect to see blue flags flying across all major European cities to signify centres with reduced congestion, reduced emissions, better air quality and a lower carbon footprint," the rapporteur added.

Sir Albert also stressed that any EU approach on urban mobility must respect the principle of subsidiarity. "Whilst there is a role for the EU in incentivising the preparation of urban mobility plans in the spirit of promoting good practice, the decision to produce such plans lies with cities and regions concerned."

The European Commission first put forward proposals on urban mobility in a Green Paper in 2007, on which Sir Albert Bore was also the CoR rapporteur. But plans for an Action Plan on Urban Mobility, foreseen for January 2009, were ultimately shelved by the Commission, prompting the European Parliament to issue its own report, under the guidance of French rapporteur Gilles Savary, setting out concrete proposals on urban mobility. That report will be adopted by the European Parliament on 24 April in Strasbourg.

Mr Savary underlined the importance of the support of the Committee of the Regions on this key issue. "As urban mobility is one of the major challenges of European transport policy, it was essential to obtain, via the Committee of the Regions, the opinion of the representatives of the local and regional authorities on this matter. The opinion presented by Sir Albert Bore reinforces the call for a European Commission Action Plan on Urban Mobility. It calls for greater coordination between the concrete efforts to move towards sustainable mobility made by the towns of Europe and the climate change targets agreed by the EU heads of state and government."

Source: COR