President Markkula to EU transport ministers: local and regional political leaders must show the way on delivering sustainable mobility in Europe

"Unacceptable that urban transport is the only sector where emissions are still rising"

On 14 April the President of the European Committee of the Regions, Markku Markkula, addressed EU ministers for transport and environment at an informal meeting focussed on green mobility. He called for the stepping-up of support for sustainable urban mobility plans through better investment.

"Every year car pollution causes 75,000 premature deaths. This number is even less acceptable by the fact that today urban transport is the only sector in the EU where greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise", said the CoR President.

As current efforts do not seem to be enough to reverse these trends, President Markkula suggests strengthening cooperation between all levels of government to find a coherent response to this challenge: "Europe's regions and cities are fully committed to reducing pollution and creating sustainable communities, but we need an integrated approach to urban mobility. This means streamlining all EU policies and investment so that they support local and regional governments in moving towards truly sustainable city living. This can only be achieved if local and regional political leaders shape EU transport and environmental decisions: this model of governance is the basis of the EU Urban Agenda which will be launched at the end of May in Amsterdam", he said.

Stronger promotion of co-modality is also needed, together with better use of available assistance and financing tools, including those set up by the European Investment Bank.

Calling for all new vehicles to be zero-emission-capable by 2035, Sharon Dijksma i, Dutch Minister for the Environment, said, "Let’s not lose sight of the opportunities these emission reductions will present for green growth and new jobs in Europe. By investing now in alternative clean, climate-neutral fuels and energy-efficient cars, we will create new markets and make ourselves more competitive worldwide. Studies by the European Climate Foundation show that greening mobility will lead to 700,000 new jobs by 2025."

President Markkula agreed with this point, adding: "We need more bottom-up action to drive urban renewal. For example, a metro extension project in Helsinki-Espoo, Finland, has significantly improved the whole urban ecosystem. Smart mobility means smart investment - we need to make use of all funding available, including EU Structural Funds, and to attract private sector investment. This will be the focus of our Summit in Bratislava on 8-9 July at the start of the Slovak EU Presidency".

How to make mobility and transport smarter in European cities will be among the main issues on the agenda of the High-Level Forum on the EU Urban Agenda to be held by the CoR in Amsterdam on 30 May, back-to-back with the informal meeting of EU ministers for urban affairs.

For more information:

Opinion on the implementation of the 2011 European Commission White Paper on Transport

Opinion on an Action plan for urban mobility

Opinion on the Urban mobility package

CoR news on mobility and transport