Slide Plenary Sessions

PLENARY 2 – GREEN MOBILITY AND DECARBONISATION

Tuesday, 15 November 2022: 10:30-11:45

 

SPEAKERS: 

 

  • Charlotte Huebner, Director ESG Public and Regulatory Affairs at Maersk
  • Francisco Jose Cardoso dos Reis, Chairman of UIC Europe Region and International Affairs Director and Senior Advisor to the Board of Directors at Infraestruturas de Portugal
  • Joaquim Guerra, Board Director at CP – Comboios de Portugal
  • Luca Bedon, Head of R&T at AvioAero – GE Aviation Business
  • Patrick Child, Deputy Director-General DG Environment and Mission Manager for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, European Commission
  • Peter Lehnert, Vice President at BMW

 

 

MODERATOR:

 

  • Jacki Davis

DESCRIPTION:

 

In this Plenary Session, dedicated to Green Mobility and Decarbonization, the challenge related to carbon neutrality in the transport system will be explored considering different transport modes and the full value-chain approach. The main political initiatives that drive this session are related to the fulfilment of the European Green Deal and its overall goals concerning sustainability and Carbon neutrality. The EU Green Deal includes a target to reduce transport-related greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2050. To reach this goal, the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy is also a key driver with the main priorities of increasing the uptake of zero-emission vehicles and having at least 100 climate-neutral cities in Europe by 2030.

 

Transport decarbonization is one of the greatest challenges that need to be addressed globally in an urgent and at-scale way. With current emissions, we will exhaust all carbon budget to stay within a 1.5 ºC temperature increase in the next 8 years. 75% of transport emissions come from the road, and this will continue to be the case in future as even in the most positive scenarios of rail/IWT share increase, most of the transport will remain on the road. During this plenary, we will address the complex subject of the energy transition and the need to transparently assess the GHG emissions on a well-to-wheel and Life Cycle Analysis basis. Additionally, the readiness for this transformation in cities is around the corner, and massive change is expected until 2030 in cities, so they move to be carbon neutral. Most industries are aware of this societal challenge and are taking the lead in reducing these emissions, with most leading companies aiming to reduce emissions by 50 % in 2030 and become net zero in 2040.

 

 

KEY QUESTIONS:

 

  • How will we go from the current situation to carbon-neutral/climate neutral within the given timeframe (e.g., before 2050)?
  • How do we prepare the existing physical infrastructure to support mobility’s digitalisation, not only in urban areas?
  • How to decarbonize the “hard to abate” passenger and freight transport segments in an integrated energy & fuel consumption approach?
  • Does electrification of transport contribute to decarbonization, and is it truly doable?
  • How to ensure appreciation and use of the mobility alternatives and solutions that lead to a greener society?
  • Why is it so important to decarbonize cities, and how can we do it?