From Low to Zero Emission: How to decarbonise urban and peri-urban mobility? An Alliance between Energy and Transport

On 15 June 2022, SGI Europe, with the support of its members EDF and Transdev, organised a conference "From Low to Zero Emission: How to decarbonise urban and peri-urban mobility? An Alliance between Energy and Transport". Addressing the need to decarbonise urban and peri-urban mobility to achieve EU's climate neutrality by 2050, the conference brought together EU decision-makers, transport and energy providers to address the relationship between the different sectors, with the transition towards zero-emission mobility as a critical goal.

Split into 2 panels and moderated by Lucie Petersen (EU Policy Expert, UITP), the event welcomed on this occasion MEP Ismail Ertug (S&D, DE), Dario Dubolino (Sustainable & Intelligent Transport, European Commission), Antoine Grange (CEO Europe, Transdev), Jörn Schwarze (Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe AG), Julien Martin (Head of Regulation Mobility Department, EDF), Elisa Schenner (Head of Brussels Office, Wiener Stadtwerke GmBH), Jens Müller (Policy and Research Lead, Transport & Environment) and Michael Villa (Executive Director, SmartEn).

Panel 1: How to decarbonise urban and peri-urban mobility?

Following a short introduction by Valeria Ronzitti (SGI Europe General Secretariat), speakers in the first panel focused on the challenges of the decarbonisation of urban and peri-urban mobility, including the financing of the charging infrastructures, the appropriateness of the EU legal framework, and balancing the climate ambitions with the challenges and needs of public transport providers. Opening the panel, MEP Ismail Ertug highlighted the key elements of the Fit-for-55 (FF55) package, especially the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR, for which he was the rapporteur at the European Parliament). He particularly emphasised that the activities on the FF55 package acknowledge that all actors are now fully mobilised, with the European Commission proposals providing a good starting point. MEP Ertug also addressed the enormous investment needed to update the infrastructure and the opportunities to modernise networks and make them multimodal.

Antoine Grange (CEO Europe, Transdev) addressed the challenges and opportunities for transport operators. He particularly stressed the technological developments in the field of electrification and its potential to move people inside and outside of urban areas. He also flagged the non-inclusion in the AFIR of the charging infrastructure for public transport and possible impacts on the sector.

Representing the Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe AG (public transport company from Koln, Germany), Jörn Schwarze emphasised the financial challenges faced by public transport enterprises and the need to pool financial support from all levels to modernise the bus fleet and develop the charging infrastructure.

Finally, Jens Müller (Policy and Research Lead, Transport & Environment) underscored that the current circumstances, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, impacting the daily life of all. He also emphasised the need for quick and sharp decisions to reach the EU's carbon-neutrality objectives: while the European Commission and cities are fully engaged in the process, it is now central for national governments to show a similar level of ambition.

Panel 2: An Alliance between Energy and Transport

The second panel discussed the need for a genuine alliance and cooperation between the energy and transport sectors and how to reinforce existing synergies.

Opening the panel, Michael Villa (Executive Director, smartEn) introduced the 'raison-d’être' of smartEn: representing at EU level companies providing consumer-driven solutions for the clean energy transition. In line with this principle, he recalled the need to include the housing sector in the alliance in the decarbonisation transition and the central role that consumers must play. Finally, he highlighted the role of smart and bidirectional charging and energy efficiency in lowering end-user bills.

Julien Martin (Head of Regulation Mobility Department, EDF) recalled that EDF was an early investor in e-mobility. He also drew attention to the need to stimulate the smart charging market to make it competitive and provide higher-capacity charging systems for public transport and private cars. Mr Martin also addressed the Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD), which needs to be more ambitious on targets and residential buildings to allow access rapidly and at a low cost to low-emission buildings. Mr Martin also highlighted the vital role that data can play in this process and how understanding consumers' behaviours can help improve and support decarbonised mobility. The whole ecosystem must be involved to improve the confidence in our ability to deliver these services.

Elisa Schenner (Head of Brussels Office, Wiener Stadtwerke GmBH) addressed the investment challenge for public transport and SGI providers to produce non-existing data, make them usable and interoperable, and monitor and report frequently on these data. She also recalled that public transport remains the best e-mobility and decarbonisation policy for the city, calling for investment in public transport to give back the city to citizens.

Concluding the event, Valeria Ronzitti, SGI Europe General Secretary, emphasised the core takeaways of the event. Services of general interest cover a broad scope of sectors directly at the heart of the decarbonisation, making SGI Europe a central stakeholder in articulating ideas and messages towards EU institutions. Ms Ronzitti also underscored the high level of investments needed to achieve the EU's decarbonisation objectives and mobilise the EU Taxonomy to bring resources from the private sector into sustainable activities. She finally recalled that the high benefits derived from using data must be proportional to the costs of making them available.