Community update on transport. Santiago de Compostela, 15 January Transport Group of the Atlantic Arc Commission-CPMR

Transcription

1 Community update on transport 15 January 2008 Transport Group of the Atlantic Arc Commission-CPMR

2 Contents 1. Freight transport in Europe: the Commission s latest initiatives for sustainable mobility 2. Action Plan for Freight Transport Logistics in Europe 3. Preparation of an Impact Assessment on the Internalisation of External Transport Costs 15 January 2008 / 1

3 The Commission s latest initiatives for sustainable mobility During the month of October 2007, the European Commission launched a series of initiatives to promote the gradual improvement of freight transport on the continent. The package of initiatives tackles the following areas: Logistics Action Plan Creation of a freight-oriented rail network Development of a European ports policy Creation of a European maritime transport space without barriers Promotion of Motorways of the Sea All of these documents have been prepared with common objectives: Promoting of innovative technologies and practices in infrastructure Development of means of transport Improvement of freight transport management Facilitation of the creation of freight transport chains Simplification of administrative procedures Reinforcement of quality in the entire logistical chain 15 January 2008 / 2

5 Freight Transport Logistics Action Plan Like the other documents presented in October 2007, this plan aimed to improve the efficiency and sustainability of freight transport in Europe. The plan deals with freight transport logistics focusing on the planning, organisation, management, control and execution of freight transport operations in the supply chain. It states that there is a growing need for a coherent EU approach to logistics considerations that offers an opportunity for reinforced co-operation and co-ordination between the different dimensions of transport policy. According to the plan, logistics needs to become a key factor in decision making. The action contained in this plan must allow freight transport in Europe to take a long term view of its growth resolving challenges such as congestion, pollution, noise, emissions and dependency on fossil fuels. The Commission has a commitment to publishing a progress report on the implementation of this plan in The short and medium measures or actions contained in this plan, approximately 30 in number, are summarised on the following slides. 15 January 2008 / 4

6 Logistics Action Plan: actions (1/4) 1. e-freight and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) Develop a roadmap for the implementation of efreight, which later will be expanded into an Internet for cargo Work towards a standard (in data structure, transactions and technology) for information flows related to freight transport to ensure the integration and interoperability of modes at data level and provide an open, robust data architecture Establish a framework for the development of ITS applications addressing also freight transport logistics, including monitoring dangerous goods, tracking and tracing, and digital maps, etc) Produce a proposal on the specific development of maritime transport ( e-maritime ) Accelerate work towards interoperability in electronic fee collection 2. Sustainable quality and efficiency Continue the work to find practical solutions to current bottlenecks Draw up a common list of minimum qualifications and training requirements for logistical staff, ensuring the mutual recognition of training certificates between member states Find ways to improve the attractiveness of transport logistics professions Establish a broadly-accepted set of generic indicators that would best serve the purpose of measuring and recording performance in freight transport logistics chains 15 January 2008 / 5

7 Logistics Action Plan: actions (2/4) 2. Sustainable quality and efficiency (continued) Elaborate a set of generic benchmarks for terminals, starting from multimodal inland terminals, and incorporate them into a code of best practice or recommendation and disseminate information about them Extend the role of the Shortsea Promotion Centres and their European network to inland transport logistics Establish a network between logistics institutes and promote industry initiatives to exchange experience and disseminate best practices Review the availability of and determine the requirements for data on European freight transport logistics across modes and assess improvements to the collection of statistical information 3. Simplification of transport chains Establish a single window (single access point) and one stop-administrative shopping for administrative procedures in all modes Make a legislative proposal on simplifying and facilitating short sea shipping towards a maritime transport space without barriers Consider the establishment of a single transport document for all carriage of goods, irrespective of mode 15 January 2008 / 6

8 Logistics Action Plan: actions (3/4) 3. Simplification of transport chains (continued) Develop the legal instruments to extend the coverage of the existing mode- and country-based liability regimes over the entire international multimodal logistics chain Develop European standards, in line with international conventions, in order to facilitate the secure integration of all transport modes in the logistic chain Simplify port and maritime transport access requirements, guaranteeing security according to international conventions 4. Vehicle dimensions and loading standards Study the options for a modification of the standards for weights and dimensions for road freight transport vehicles Update the 2003 proposal for a directive on Intermodal Loading Units Establish a mandate for standardising an optimal European Intermodal Loading Unit that can be used in all surface modes Examine the multimodal compatibility of loading units used in air transport and other modes 15 January 2008 / 7

9 Logistics Action Plan: actions (4/4) 5. "Green" transport corridors for freight Define green transport corridors, between authorities and operators, to ensure sustainable transport Green transport corridors will reflect an integrated transport concept where short sea shipping, rail, inland waterways and road complement each other to enable the choice of environmentally friendly transport. They will be equipped with efficient transhipment facilities and with supply points for biofuels and other forms of green propulsion. Green corridors should be suitable for experimentation and innovation Reinforce green corridors in the TEN-T and in the Marco Polo priorities Develop a freight-oriented rail network Promote the establishment and recognition of Motorways of the Sea through, among others, a better coordination of different funding sources Implement the NAIADES programme for inland waterway transport 6. Urban freight transport logistics Encourage the exchange of experiences of representatives of urban areas Make recommendations of commonly agreed benchmarks or performance indicators to measure efficiency and sustainability in urban transport logistics and planning Reinforce the co-ordination, or integration, between passenger and freight transport, between interurban and urban transport logistics January 2008 / 8

11 Report on the internalisation of external transport costs TREN.A2/EM/cc D(2007) The high and growing proportion of the external costs of freight transport endanger its sustainability, which calls for policy actions. As a result, since the approval of the EUROVIGNETTE Directive (2006), the European Commission has been working on the elaboration of a model for the quantification of external transport costs. Transport users impose costs to society which are damaging and not sustainable: congestion, air pollution, climate change, accidents, noise, and others. The failure of market prices to reflect overall social costs (such as the external costs of transport) leads to inefficiencies and non optimal use of transport modes. Correcting these failures would require government measures based on the treaty's "Polluter-Pays" principle and on the need to ensure the well functioning of the internal market. As well as elaborating the model mentioned above, the Commission must prepare a report on the internalisation of external costs for all modes of transport and a strategy for the implementation of the model for all modes of transport. The following slides present the technical document accompanying the public consultation which the European Commission opened at the end of 2007 on the internalisation of external costs. This document summarises the progress made and the Commission s points of view on this issue. 15 January 2008 / 10

12 Internalisation of external transport costs: assessing costs The characteristic of externalities is that they are not borne by the user. For example, pollution affects health, but the costs of this are assumed by others. This makes it difficult to identify these costs and also to assess them in economic terms. As a result, for the internalisation of these costs, estimates of them must be made. Below some examples are put forward: Congestion: A first estimate of the costs of congestion would be: the increase in journey time multiplied by the value of time. Estimates of traffic congestion should also distinguish between different types of road and between urban and interurban areas, since congestion is heavily dependent on time (morning, midday, afternoon) and location. Accidents: These costs are already partially internalised through insurance. For their assessment, knowledge is required of the number of accidents and the likelihood of accidents, the cost of accidents and the percentage not covered by insurance. Noise: These vary according to the time of day, the existing noise level and the mode of transport. Their assessment requires the evaluation of the number of persons affected and the damage caused to them (per person affected and per increase in decibels) Air pollution: These depend on the emissions under consideration and, therefore, on the vehicle used. Assessment requires evaluation of the number of persons affected and the costs (in terms of health effects) per pollutant unit emitted. Climate change: Difficult to estimate due to the large variety of physical impacts and the need to assess costs in the long term. As one indicator of these costs, CO 2 emissions may be used. 15 January 2008 / 11

13 Internalisation of external transport costs: policy tools The optimal strategy for internalisation of external costs will try to optimise economic efficiency as far as possible, using marginal cost pricing and relying on market-based instruments. Marginal social cost It is widely acknowledged that transport prices should match the marginal social cost (including the marginal user costs and marginal external costs). Nevertheless, given the wide variety of locations and time, it is in practice very difficult to assess precisely all marginal costs and some simplification is inevitable. The marginal cost approach alone does not consider infrastructure construction costs, which make subsidies or assistance necessary in cases of low or moderate traffic density. For this reason the Commission will not consider the infrastructure costs in its internalisation strategy. Market-based instruments A tax based on an external cost can contribute to making the transport user pay. However, a tax cannot differentiate between different locations and different hours. Accordingly, tax might be used to internalise some external costs, but not all of them. A charge based on distance and route (a toll) is another way to internalise some costs, although it requires facilities and equipment. Tradable emission permits are a further system. Existing taxes One cannot ignore the existing charges and taxes across Member States which sometimes entail a possible situation of internalisation, although they are usually created for infrastructure financing motives. The Commission strives to avoid double taxation. 15 January 2008 / 12

14 Internalisation of external transport costs: policy options The Commission states that the difficulty of the identification of external costs in all times and places imposes a trade-off between the level of differentiation and the cost and feasibility of its implementation. All policy options, says the Commission, will have to be assessed according to three principles: fairness, efficiency and reduction of externalities. As well, the methods chosen must be applicable to all modes of transport and must be able to differentiate, when necessary, between urban and non urban transport. In broad terms, the document studies five policy options: No new action ( business as usual ): In many cases, taxes or fees aimed at internalising external costs already exist, although they are not sufficient to achieve the objectives of efficiency and sustainability. Differentiated charges: User pays depending on distance, time, route type, vehicle type, location. This is a good option for any mode and any external cost. Generalised tax: Its application is general and does not allow for differentiation. The Commission is proposing its use for internalising noise and air pollution costs. Emission rights trading: Especially conceived for costs related to climate change. Introduction of electronic user-pays system: specific system for road traffic that makes possible a wide variation in payments. 15 January 2008 / 13

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