Transport Archives

The European Union on Monday (30 August) recommended that its member states reimpose travel restrictions on US tourists over rising covid infections in the country.

A geothermal power plant in the UK has discovered the highest concentration of lithium ever found in geothermal fluid, opening the door to a new business model for the renewable energy source.

British ministers will consider easing post-Brexit immigration rules to help end a shortage of truck drivers amid mounting pressure from supermarket chains, The Times newspaper reported.

After announcing plans to operate a small carbon-neutral vessel by 2023, Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk has ordered eight large ocean-going container vessels capable of running on 'green' e-methanol.

France's transport ministry hit the brakes on an order for the nation's army of motorbikers to get their machines tested every two years, after President Emmanuel Macron got wind of the plan.

Irish budget airline Ryanair will soon roll out a new “carbon calculator” the company says will allow customers to fully offset their flight emissions – a claim that has been met with scepticism by climate campaigners.

The European Commission’s Fit for 55 package will rapidly tighten emission standards for cars, effectively banning the sale of vehicles fitted with internal combustion engines by 2035. German carmakers had preempted the move, but parts suppliers and employees are worried.

The biofuels industry has welcomed the European Commission's proposal to end the statistical inflation of waste-based biofuels in the EU's road transport energy mix, a practice they say camouflaged the use of fossil fuels.

For decades, those who dared venture beyond the realm of Earth held a romantic position in our minds – men and women that combined great knowledge with great courage. Today, however, the great mystery of space is commodified. We’re well on our way to space becoming a playground for billionaires. The final frontier is just another bucket list item for the rich.

Space tourism has become a reality in the last month, with two billionaires jetting off to brush the edge of space in ground-breaking technology, but the CO2 emissions of such trips could carry a heavy price for the climate.

Plug-in hybrids and electric cars have increased in popularity in France, rising from 2.5% of all vehicles sold in 2019 to 7.5% today. The increase in sales is partly linked to the electric bonuses granted under the country's recovery plan, dubbed France Relance. EURACTIV France reports.

Following months of fevered speculation (and equally fevered lobbying), the Fit for 55 climate laws package was unveiled last Wednesday (14 July). In today’s Transport Brief we’ll take a look at what the Fit for 55 plan means for three key sectors: road transport, aviation, and maritime.

The advanced biofuels industry has criticised the complexity of the EU’s climate legislation package, arguing that the uncertainty caused by the slew of new rules will hinder investor confidence.

As electromobility grows, it’s triggering enormous change to the automotive sector, writes Judith Kirton-Darling. Handled right, this transition could bring Europe an unrivalled opportunity for competitive advantage and provide a future for the 14 million workers in Europe who depend directly or indirectly on the automotive industry, she argues.

A proposed new EU-wide fuel taxation system based on energy content rather than volume seeks to end incentives for petrol and diesel, aiming instead to support the uptake of green biofuels, renewable hydrogen and synthetic fuels.

Proposed EU legislation aimed at cutting flight emissions by ramping up the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) has excluded the use of first-generation biofuels, arguing they bring "limited environmental benefits".

Italy has reached a deal with the European Commission over the launch of carrier Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA), which will replace the loss-making, state-owned Alitalia, the Treasury said in a statement.

The European Commission proposed on Wednesday (15 July) adding shipping to the bloc's carbon market for the first time, adding pressure to become greener on an industry that had avoided the European Union's system of pollution charges for over a decade.

Airlines may lose a tax break on jet fuel that has drawn fire from environmentalists, while having to use more non-petroleum alternatives and pay a bigger emissions bill, under major proposals to make Europe the "first climate-neutral continent".

Sales of new cars and vans that produce carbon emissions will be banned as of 2035, proposals tabled by the European Commission revealed on Wednesday (14 July), a move which all but guarantees that the era of the internal combustion engine (ICE) is drawing to a close in the EU.

NASA and the European Space Agency joined forces Tuesday (13 July) in the battle against climate change, a move they said paves the way to a global response to the problem.

For those in the orbit of the EU institutions – lobbyists, journalists, policy wonks, activists – the suspense is almost unbearable. Wednesday (14 July) will see the European Commission unveil the so-called “Fit for 55” package: more than a dozen pieces of legislation that aim to ensure the bloc reduces emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

Kyiv will be invited on Tuesday (13 July) to join EU industrial alliances on batteries and raw materials, with a view to develop an entire value chain of the extraction, refining and recycling of minerals in Ukraine to supply the EU market for electric cars and digital equipment.