Durante 2009 disminuyeron las emisiones de muchos contaminantes generados por el transporte. Ahora bien, según el último informe anual sobre las emisiones del transporte publicado por la Agencia Europea de Medio Ambiente (AEMA), esta reducción podría ser sólo consecuencia pasajera de la recisión económica. El Mecanismo de Información sobre el Transporte y el Medio Ambiente (TERM) que estudia los impactos medioambientales del transporte, incluye por primera vez un amplio conjunto de objetivos cuantitativos propuestos por la hoja de ruta del transporte de la Comisión Europea anunciada en 2011.

Las emisiones de casi todos los contaminantes procedentes del transporte disminuyeron en 2009, debido a la caída de la demanda. No obstante, se trata de una disminución provocada por la recesión económica. Por tanto, será necesaria una transformación más profunda del sistema de transporte en Europa, para evitar que las emisiones aumenten incluso en un contexto de fuerte crecimiento económico.

Profesora Jacqueline McGlade, Directora ejecutiva de la AEMA

Hace falta más ambición en el sector europeo del transporte para cumplir los objetivos

Laying the foundations for greener transport — TERM 2011: transport indicators tracking progress towards environmental targets in Europe

• Present transport GHG emissions as defined in the white paper are 27 % above 1990 levels (this covers the EU-27, excludes international maritime and includes international aviation). In 2009, GHG emissions from transport decreased for the second year in a row, mainly due to the effects of the economic recession. Nevertheless, a major effort is still needed in order to achieve targets, and emissions may grow again once economic growth resumes.

• Reduction in oil dependence is an objective of EU policy, not least because it is closely related to decreasing GHG emissions. Targets and measures included in the roadmap for moving to a competitive low-carbon economy in 2050 require efforts from all sectors. Although the new white paper has not stated any specific target for reducing oil dependency, the 60 % GHG emissions reduction target means that transport-sector oil dependence should be significantly reduced by 2050, compared with the 96 % level today. In addition, decarbonisation of the energy system is significantly linked with decarbonisation of transport.

• Significant progress has been made since 1990 in reducing the emissions of many air pollutants from the transport sector. Nevertheless, many cities are facing challenges in meeting concentration limits set in EU legislation for air pollutants — road transport in particular makes a large contribution to urban air quality.

EEA Report No 7/2011. Laying the foundations for greener transport — TERM 2011: transport indicators tracking progress towards environmental targets in Europe