TERM 2021 – decarbonisation of road transport
19090
2021
The European Environment Agency publishes the annual TERM report, which analyses the environmental impacts of transport activities and charts the progress of transport policy goals in the EU. In the TERM 2021 report, TML examined the increase in CO2 emissions from passenger cars and trucks in the EU, as well as possible solutions to reduce these emissions.
Every year, the European Environment Agency publishes its TERM report, which examines the environmental impact of transport activities. This report gives an overview of current developments in transport and the environment and charts progress towards transport policy objectives. Within the European Topic Centre on Climate Change Mitigation (ETC/CM), we lead the reporting for the years 2022 - 2025.
In the TERM 2021 report, we use literature review and decomposition analysis to analyse the drivers of greenhouse gas emissions from passenger cars and trucks in the EU. CO2 emissions from passenger cars in the EU 27 increased by 5.8% between 2000 and 2019, those from trucks by 5.5%. In both cases, the increase is mainly due to an increase in kilometres travelled, whose impact on emissions was only partly offset by improved energy efficiency and the use of renewable fuels.
The problem is compounded by the fact that the car remains dominant in passenger transport, even increasing its share slightly; the same applies to trucks in freight transport.
Looking ahead, it is expected that with the increase in energy efficiency, coupled with electrification, the evolution towards low-carbon road transport will shift up a gear. This includes a role for low-carbon electricity and fuel. The European Environment Agency also points out that slowing transport demand, a modal shift to more sustainable means of transport, and an increase in the number of passengers per vehicle or the load factor of trucks can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is also needed to reduce the other environmental impacts of road transport.
The TERM 2021 report was published on 1 June 2022.
