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CER aisbl COMMUNITY OF EUROPEAN RAILWAY AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMPANIES
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the
European Green Deal
Summary: The EU and its Member States should implement a number of policy measures
to set transport on a path to full decarbonisation by 2050, with a modal shift to rail,
effective tools to implement 'user pays' and 'polluter pays' principles and proper funding
for clean mobility. European railways are therefore proposing priority measures for the
upcoming European Green Deal.
The European Green Deal has been announced by Commission President Ursula von der
Leyen for the first 100 days of the new Commission's mandate1: an action plan mainly to
address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, notably with a European Climate Law for
climate neutrality by 2050, and to protect biodiversity, improve water and air quality and
make food production sustainable.
European railways are calling on the European Commission, Parliament and Member States
to agree on a strong European Green Deal, one that will help to progressively reduce to
net-zero the GHG emissions from transport and from the wider economy by 2050 at the
latest. European railways support the European Parliament's March 2019 proposal to
increase the EU's 2030 overall GHG reduction target from today 40% (on 1990 levels, as
agreed in 2014) to 55%, to bring the target in line with the EU's commitments under the
2015 Paris Agreement and its target to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. They also
support zero-pollution ambition for air.
European railways are doing this for two main reasons. First, like citizens and other
businesses across Europe, they understand that the planet needs decreasing GHG
emissions now and climate neutrality within a few decades and that Europe, given its
historic responsibility for past GHG emissions, must be a frontrunner for global climate
action to succeed. Second, European railways today are in their large majority commercial
organisations, operating in increasingly competitive markets, with strong competition both
intra- and intermodal. As the existing green mode of motorised transport thanks to very
low externalities, high degrees of electrification and increasingly zero-carbon operation
they see the sector's responsibility to help greening transport, but also a major business
opportunity: to benefit from more balanced EU and national regulatory frameworks that
give rail a fair chance to compete with road, air and water transport, and from enhanced
rail infrastructure development.
It is therefore natural for European railways to think about how they can best contribute
to decarbonising transport and how the European Green Deal can support their
contribution. For this they are today making concrete proposals to the EU institutions and
Member States. Some of the proposed policy measures require funding, others would help
raising funds.
Overarching policies that the EU and Member States should support with the European
Green Deal:
1) Set milestones for decarbonising EU transport: Decarbonising the EU
economy requires decarbonising EU transport. Transport is the EU's only major
sector that has not decreased its GHG emissions since 1990. Instead, they have
increased by 28%. The EU should now define a clear path for EU transport to reduce
its GHG emissions to zero by 20502:
-25% by 2030 (on 1990 levels, amounting to -41% for 2016-30)
-65% by 2040 (on 1990 levels)
-100% by 2050 (climate-neutral transport)
These numbers should be made binding targets, requiring swift corrective action
by Member States when EU transport emissions overshoot. The need for specific
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transport targets has also been stressed by the International Transport Forum
(ITF).3 Making particular efforts for transport decarbonisation will help the EU to
reach its overall targets without squeezing other sectors that, unlike transport,
have already realised parts of their initial savings potential. A deep transformation
of EU transport will also reduce Europe's oil dependence and create jobs and growth
for Europeans.
2) Support a shift to rail: Decarbonising EU transport requires a shift to clean trans-
port like rail, as recently recommended by think tanks and academics.4 Low- and
increasingly zero-carbon, rail is the existing green mode of motorised transport and
must be enabled to fully play its role as backbone of the digitalised and seamless
multimodal system.
2)A For rail freight specifically, develop in consultation with the sector an
action plan of EU and national measures that could enable rail freight to
increase its land transport EU market share from 17% today to 30% in 2030, a
target put forward by the Rail Freight Forward coalition of European rail freight
operators. This should include measures to support digitalisation, combined
transport, single-wagon services and last-mile infrastructure.5
2)B For passengers, support a shift to rail particularly in the case of cross-
border travel up to 1000 km, with technical integration (e.g. electrification and
safety), but also TEN-T corridor development, supported by CEF funding (see
item 4)).
3) Promote marginal social-cost pricing (MSCP) in transport i.e. implement
'polluter pays' (a principle enshrined in TFEU art. 191(2)) and 'user pays' so as
to internalise transport externalities. Only in such a framework, green modes like
rail have a fair chance to compete and to fully play their role. Rail is today the only
motorised transport mode to nearly cover its marginal costs, according to a recent
Commission study.6 Economists have called for MSCP, as has the European
Parliament.7 MSCP can and should be an important tool to support a shift to rail.
One major concrete step is robust carbon pricing for transport (as per item 7).
Another one is to initiate more comprehensive road charging, as per item 8).
Financing and funding policies that the EU and Member States should support with the
European Green Deal:
4) Significantly increase the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) budget for
transport in the 2021-27 MFF. CEF is a key financing instrument for new
connectivity infrastructure that bridges missing links and removes bottlenecks on
the TEN-T Core Network Corridors, especially for cross-border rail transport, and
that supports technical safety integration and the digital transformation of rail
operations.8 Besides upgrading existing and constructing new rail infrastructure,
investment is specifically required for:
4)A Electrifying further rail tracks, especially missing links. Across Europe and
already today, four trains out of five run on electricity9, which is becoming ever
greener. Many more trains should be able to do so in future.
4)B Further digitalising railways, notably by deploying uninterrupted 5G
and, crucially, the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS),
which by 2023 at least 30% and ideally 40% of those corridors should be equipped
with.10
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4)C Further reducing rail freight noise, the major remaining environmental
challenge for rail. CEF funds
should support the retrofitting of freight
wagons as soon as possible with at least 50% co-funding.
All this will help making rail more efficient and still greener and it means new rail
network capacity to accommodate a shift to rail. An increased CEF budget is
supported by stakeholders across the transport sector. And CEF funding has
substantial wider socio-economic benefits: it generates jobs and growth11, for
prosperity and cohesion across the EU. At the same time, it is important to pair
ambitious decarbonisation targets with appropriate financing tools to mitigate the
costs of the green transition.
5) Provide robust funding for railway research and innovation. Budgeting for
next-generation Shift2Rail must be coherent with the scope and depth of the rail
billion will be required. Research should also support interoperability solutions and
further digitalisation of railways through development of 5G and AI and help
improve efficiency of using alternative fuels such as hydrogen.
6) Facilitate a scale-up of private investment in rail projects, for instance
through the EU sustainable finance agenda. While the European Regional Develop-
ment Fund (ERDF), cohesion funding and especially CEF remain central for rail
funding, EIB financing through EFSI could help mobilise additional public and
private funds. Green Bonds are forecast to grow rapidly and low-carbon transport
like rail should get better access to them.
A level playing field for rail that the EU and Member States should support with the
European Green Deal:
7) Implement robust carbon pricing for transport across the EU, for effective
incentives to emit less and for fair competition between transport modes. The price
is key, the tool is secondary. For fossil-fuel-driven transport (or inland transport
only) it could be a reformed EU ETS (Emissions Trading System) with a minimum
carbon price, ideally as a separate ETS until 2030 at least. Or it could be EU-
coordinated taxes levied by Member States. Robust carbon pricing must apply to
inland transport, but also to aviation and maritime shipping. The price should reflect
the external cost, i.e. amo
2 equivalent today.12 Part
of revenues could be redistributed to consumers, especially to vulnerable com-
muters. At least 50% should be used to boost public transport and clean mobility
in general, supporting the modal-shift objectives specified in item 2).
7)A Allow taxing energy used in international aviation or maritime
shipping, by removing the mandatory exemptions in the energy taxation directive
art. 14, which today prevent unilateral carbon pricing by a Member State. Until the
removal becomes effective, the Commission should assist Member States willing to
enter bi- or multilateral tax agreements so that taxation is better aligned with
climate ambitions.
7)B End subsidies for flying, such as exemptions from kerosene tax, EU ETS and
value-added tax (VAT), alongside ending subsidies for regional airports. As a
transitional measure, flight ticket taxes can be implemented easily and unilaterally
by each member state. They should be set at a level that is sufficient to fully offset
aviation's operating subsidies, to make competition with passenger rail fairer and
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thus to properly incentivise low-carbon mobility. The funds should be used to
incentivise sustainable modes of transport (e.g. night trains).
8) Make road charging more comprehensive, in line with 'user pays' and 'polluter
pays' principles, by agreeing on a wide-ranging revision of the Eurovignette direc-
tive.13 This will help greening road transport and also give already-green modes a
fair chance to compete. In upcoming trilogue discussions, the Commission should
stand behind its 2017 proposal, support Parliament's increased ambition for EU
road-charging rules and, if necessary, make substantial efforts in trying to convince
Member States of the proposal's merits, especially as to distance-based infra-
structure charging (a long-standing EU rule for rail14) and external-cost charging.
Other policies that the EU and Member States should support with the European Green
Deal:
9) Encourage the use of low-emission transport in Erasmus+ programmes,
especially in actions targeting European Youth. Like for DiscoverEU, the principle
of travel by rail could be adopted by other mobility initiatives under the Erasmus+
programme. Erasmus+ is the EU flagship programme for education, culture, youth
and sport. Learning Mobility for Individuals (Key Action 1) is a major component of
Erasmus+ and
(EUR 1.4
billion). Action supported by Key Action 1 should aim at increasing motivation to
travel by train, to make sustainable mobility a life-long decision for young
Europeans.
10) Improve cross-border interoperability by swiftly implementing the TEN-T-
Regulation (no. 1315/2013). As a priority, Member States should preferably apply
the GC loading gauge (see INF TSI) when building or upgrading lines, and enable
740 m freight trains and 22.5 tons axle load.
11) Increase interconnectivity between rail and road, e.g. by making
compatibility of trucks and trailers with combined transport mandatory by law.
Future revisions of road legislation (in particular of Directive 96/53 on weights and
dimensions of trucks and Regulation 1230/2012 on the type approval of road units)
should ensure that all trailers, semi-trailers and cabs are interoperable and can be
used in combined-transport operations. Intermodal cooperation between road, rail
and inland waterways should be supported with measures that reduce
transhipment costs, for efficient long-distance freight transport in a multimodal
system.
12) Mainstream the European Green Deal across all EU policies, to boost the
energy transition and develop sustainable cities. As a major electricity user,
railways demand green energy, which proper implementation of the EU's Clean
Energy Package should help provide. The Urban Mobility Package should guide
cities to become greener by using a public transport-centric approach coupled with
sustainable urban freight plans.
Additional policies that should be considered for the European Green Deal to support a
shift to rail:
i.
Temporarily waive part of rail track access charges until the transition to
MSCP (see item 3)) is completed in transport, to compensate railways for the
unpaid environmental, accident and infrastructure costs of competing transport
modes in so far as these costs exceed the equivalent costs of rail. This principle of
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SERA directive art. 34, already applied in a few Member States (AT, BE, DE, DK,
IT, SE, UK), should be extended, especially for freight rail, which is most directly
affected by the MSCP implementation gap in road transport. As per SERA directive
art. 8(4), public funds should cover the revenue losses resulting for rail infra-
structure managers.
ii.
Reduce the customs guarantee burden for rail freight, by making a guarantee
waiver the standard arrangement for rail freight.15 Since 1 May 2019, operators
must provide a customs guarantee, which for rail freight could reach unbearably
high amounts due to high volumes and tax values. Currently, conditions to obtain
a guarantee waiver are interpreted by several Member States in very restrictive
ways. Without a guarantee waiver, rail freight costs would rise considerably,
triggering a reverse modal shift to other, more polluting modes of transport.
iii.
Promote sustainable tourism, especially the choice of near-by European
destinations and sustainable travel modes. So far, EU action for sustainable tourism
is focused on tourism products, destination management and accommodation.
Taking a wider approach, policymakers should now be "addressing the
environmental impact of transport linked to tourism", a major challenge identified
already in the Commission's 2007 "Agenda for a sustainable and competitive Euro-
pean tourism".
iv.
Improve transport eco-labelling to help travellers and shippers, so that they
can make a well-informed choice for low-carbon mobility. Quick gains in reducing
transport GHG emissions could be achieved by triggering behaviour change. The
Commission should help align existing carbon footprint approaches, so that a
unified methodological framework can be established.16
European railways are a key to EU transport decarbonisation and asking the EU to
help them maximise their contribution. In return, they will
further improve their energy efficiency (already increased by 22% since 199017) by an
estimated 25% from today to 2050 (
18 to reduce
specific energy consumption by 50% by 2050 compared to 1990) so that rail remains
the most energy-efficient motorised transport mode by far19 e.g. by optimising train
speed thanks to enhanced driver training and automated train operation,
further reduce their specific CO2 emissions (CO2 intensity per pkm or tkm) by an
estimated 65-70% from today to 2050, by first meeting the interim target18 of 50%
reduction by 2030 compared to 1990, so that rail remains the most CO2-efficient
motorised transport mode by far19 thanks to improved energy efficiency in railways
(see above) and increased use of renewables in power generation,
further improve their processes and operational efficiency, e.g. with digitalisation, espe-
cially through ERTMS roll-out and expanded 5G connectivity (see item 4), but also with
targeted initiatives like Boosting International Rail Freight, which started in 2016, with
progress reported in 2018,
further innovate rail services and products, e.g. new freight bundling concepts in close
cooperation with the other modes such as maritime shipping, or new daily connections
to move freight between European economic hubs fast, reliably and sustainably,
closely cooperate with other modes of transport to further develop Mobility as a Service
(MaaS) where enhanced door-to-door mobility, with railways as the backbone, will
encourage more people to choose sustainable travel options.
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Moreover, with regard to item 7), European railways are ready to accept equal treatment
and therefore unreduced carbon pricing also for rail. In some EU Member States, rail
diesel is exempt from energy tax. In others, it enjoys a significant tax reduction. Those
exemptions and reductions for rail could be removed if, when and to the extent that they
are removed for all other motorised transport modes. Further rail track electrification (see
item 4)A) and the use of alternative fuels like hydrogen (see item 5)) will support the
transition away from diesel.
The European Green Deal must now set European transport on a path to full decarbo-
nisation by 2050 with a modal shift to rail, effective tools to implement 'user pays' and
'polluter pays' principles, proper funding for clean mobility and other supporting measures.
CER stands ready to engage with policymakers to help the European Green Deal deliver
clean mobility for all.
* * *
About CER
The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) brings together railway undertakings,
their national associations as well as infrastructure managers and vehicle leasing companies. The membership is
made up of long-established bodies, new entrants and both private and public enterprises, representing 71% of
the rail network length, 76% of the rail freight business and about 92% of rail passenger operations in EU, EFTA
and EU accession countries. CER represents the interests of its members towards EU policy makers and transport
stakeholders, advocating rail as the backbone of a competitive and sustainable transport system in Europe. For
more information, visit www.cer.be or follow @CER railways on Twitter.
This CER document is for public information.
Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this document, CER cannot be held responsible for any information from
external sources, techn cal inaccuracies, typographical errors or other errors herein. Information and links may have changed without notice.
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Endnotes
1 Ms von der Leyen has announced the Green Deal to the European Parliament and in her mission letter to European
Commission Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans.
2 These numbers have been put forward by the European cross-sector Platform for Electro-mobility in March 2019.
3 Referring to the Paris Agreement, ITF regrets that "only 10% of the Nationally Determined Contributions include a
transport CO2 reduction target" and concludes (under "To Dos"): "It is not enough that 6 in 10 NDCs contain transport
measures when the sector is the second-largest emitter. The NDCs must include more, and especially more specific,
commitments."
4 CERRE stressed the need to "implement tailored policies that can deliver the modal shift required in European mobility".
The Jacques Delors Institute (Berlin and Paris) recommended to "encourage a shift from dirty modes of transport towards
cleaner ones". Specifically, the EU should "better support innovation in the railway sector, including freight and night
trains". Bruegel recommended "a switch from road to rail and maritime transport" for freight and "substitution by high-
speed trains" for passenger aircraft.
5 A European action plan for rail freight could aim to take to the next level the existing national plans (e.g. Germany's
2017 "Masterplan Schienengüterverkehr", set out in German by the transport ministry here and summarised by the
sector here).
6 Published in June 2019, DG MOVE's study on "Sustainable Transport Infrastructure Charging and Internalisation of
Transport Externalities" states in its executive summary (see Main Findings, p. 16): "MSCP is not achieved at the EU28
level (...) Variable infrastructure and external costs are generally not covered by variable taxes/charges. An exception
is rail transport (particularly high speed trains and diesel passenger trains), where the rail access charges and diesel
taxes reflect the variable nature of the external costs and the variable part of the infrastructure costs." Variable costs
(total costs minus fixed costs) per passenger-km or ton-km are a good proxy for marginal costs.
Rail's good coverage of marginal or variable costs, much better than e.g. in road transport, is illustrated in a recent CER
factsheet, which summarises and explains key results from DG MOVE's study.
7 See the European Parliament's Resolution on low-emission mobility of 14 December 2017, item 18.
8 Details are outlined in a CER position paper on CEF and another one on MFF.
9 An electrification share of 77% of train-km has been determined for European rail networks included in the PRIME
benchmarking on 2017 data; see executive summary (slide 7) or full report
s are
100% electrified, while Luxembourg (95%), Belgium (86%), the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Bulgaria and Austria are
all above 70%; see "EU transport in figures": Statistical pocketbook 2019, p. 81.
10 ERTMS deployment is a basis towards a progressively more automated interconnected railway system. Combined with
automated train operations (ATO) and other new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, digital information sharing
and embedded sensors and telematics, it makes the system smarter and more effective. The digital railway will drive
the integration of the overall mobility-digital eco-system for all transportation modes.
11 An overview of rail investments' wider socio-economic benefits is provided in this CER factsheet, based in particular
on 2018 TEN-T investment analysis by the European Commission and on a 2014 study of rail's economic footprint by
Ecorys.
12 This external cost estimate was put forward by Germany's Umweltbundesamt (federal environmental agency) in
November 2018. Applying this value as a carbon price in Europe is supported, for example, by the European Environ-
mental Bureau. For Sweden, a price of 7 SEK per kg CO2
2, has been recommended by ASEK, a
group of researchers connected to Trafikverket and responsible for recommendations on the socio-economic value
factors in Sweden, see e.g. p. 31 of their recent report.
13 In revising the current directive and further to its May 2017 proposal (broadly welcomed by CER in its summary sheet
of September 2017), the Commission rightly praised the European Parliament's amendments put forward in its
1st reading position of October 2018. For EU Council discussions, CER made concrete recommendations in a position
paper in April 2019.
14 See Single European Railway Area (SERA) directive art. 31(3): rail infrastructure use charges "shall be set at the cost
that is directly incurred as a result of operating the train service", implying a distance-based charging obligation.
15 Historically, a guarantee waiver, i.e. relief from the obligation to pay a guarantee for customs debt or other charges,
has always been granted to EU railway undertakings; see art. 95 of the Community Customs Code that was applicable
until 1 May 2016 (before a 3-year transition period): "2. Except in cases to be determined where necessary in accordance
companies of the Member States."
16 EN 16258 is a step in the right direction, but a consistent cross-modal eco-label for transport remains to be developed.
17 See IEA-UIC Railway Handbook 2017, p. 28: "Between 1990 and 2015, energy consumption per transport unit (a
weighted combination between passenger-km and freight tonne-km) decreased by 22.2% and CO2 emissions per
transport unit decreased by 45.2%."
18 The sustainable mobility targets for the European railway sector can be found in Section 8 (page 45) of the CER and
Rail Transport and Environment facts and figures
19 This is according to projections used by the European Commission in its EU Reference Scenario 2016, which analyses
the long-term economic, energy, climate and transport outlook based on the current policy framework.
Rail is expected to remain at least four times as energy-efficient as any other motorised mode, both for passengers and
freight except for inland navigation, which in 2050 is expected to be only about 20% less energy-efficient than freight
rail.
In terms of specific CO2 emissions, European railways low-carbon already today are expected to increase their CO2
efficiency by more than any other motorised mode, both for passengers and freight, to become at least 20 times as
efficient as the other modes, except for inland navigation (6 times).
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