Europe is at a turning point when it comes to the transformation of the transport sector. On one side is the achievement of neutrality in carbon emissions by 2050, and on the other side are investments.
In order to really achieve the set goals, Europe must radically change the way it invests, abandoning traditional infrastructure, investments in highways and the like, and turning to support green technologies. This step is necessary for the decarbonization of road traffic, but also for the preservation of Europe’s global competitiveness, about which we wrote a lot in the previous days after the closure of three VW car factories was announced, and especially after the approval of tariffs on the import of electric cars from China in order to protect the domestic industry . Nevertheless, such a decision scares a number of countries and companies due to possible trade turmoil, given that many other technologies, such as solar green technologies, are imported from China to the EU.
When it comes to electromobility alone, according to the latest study by the Transport & Environment (T&E) organization, Europe should invest 39 billion euros of public funds annually to support the transition to green infrastructure, including primarily the network of chargers and electric cars.
The T&E study points out that public support for electric vehicles, green fuels, battery manufacturing and charging infrastructure could unlock significant private investment.
The largest part of the investment, over 85 percent, would go, as it does now, to the production of green transport technology, by investors, but the assessment says that the most capital-intensive industries will also need public investments. T&E estimates these investments at 39 billion euros per year that would help achieve the goals by 2030, which they say is less than the 42 billion euros that European governments currently provide for fossil fuel cars.
In response to global competition, especially from China, T&E proposes the establishment of an EU fund for batteries with support of 25 billion euros. This fund would enable the creation of local battery production, access to key materials and the reduction of investment risks, which is crucial for maintaining the competitiveness of the European industry in the production of key components such as cathodes.
Although e-fuels for aircraft and ships are currently expensive and in the early stages of development, T&E highlights the need for 86 billion euros of capital investment by 2030 for their production in Europe. Governments are proposed to provide a third of this financing through guarantees and loans to reduce risks for private investors.
Large public investments are needed to modernize the energy infrastructure to support the additional demand for electric vehicles. T&E is calling on governments to double their current investment in energy networks, targeting €67 billion a year by 2050, which could be partly offset by a reduction in spending on highway construction, for which European governments currently allocate over €60 billion.
Energy portal
Source: energetskiportal.rs
