Brussels, 22nd April 2011 – EUROPIA, the European Petroleum Industry Association, publishes its White Paper on Fuelling EU Transport based on statistics from publicly acknowledged bodies, demonstrating that improvements in efficiency and lower carbon fuel options could achieve the EU long term objectives of reducing CO2 emissions in transport.

Soon after the Commission (DG MOVE) published a White Paper on the Future of Transport, the European Refining & Marketing Industry publishes its comprehensive report “EUROPIA White Paper on Fuelling EU Transport” as basis for a constructive dialogue between EU policy makers and the industry to shape the future of EU mobility. The study outlines how efficiency improvements and lower carbon fuel options could
achieve the EU’s policy objectives for a low carbon society.

Mobility fuels the EU economy and oil products fuels and will continue to fuel mobility
Mobility is and will remain vital for the EU economy. Oil will continue to lead as a source for transportation fuels in the decades to come; however, European energy demand in the transportation sector is anticipated to be flat with oil declining from 2005 to 2030 as a result of energy efficiency measures, new technology, renewable policy and other factors.

 
Policy measures to reduce CO2 emissions society wide should be based on realistic and attainable objectives to achieve the lowest CO2 abatement cost. To do this, a framework for consistent CO2 abatement cost across the entire economy is essential. As highlighted in the impact assessment accompanying the Commission White Paper on the Future of Transport, implementing GHG abatement measures in the transport sector would demand greater capital intensity than would abatement in any other
sector. In addition, reducing greenhouse gas footprint in transportation will take time. A successful transition requires policymakers to avoid policies that jeopardise the current fuel system before a viable and costcompetitive replacement exists.

 
Cost-efficiency of measures should be the focus Every segment in transport—light and heavy duty vehicles, aviation, and marine—has unique characteristics and unique opportunities: energy demand for LDVs will be on the decline while energy demand for the other segments will rise; there may be several technology alternatives or relatively few. Evaluating transport modalities on the basis of available technology options and costs will help prioritise EU CO2 mitigation policies.

To facilitate CO2 reductions in transport, both technical and policy measures should be based on the best possible cost-efficiency, i.e. assessing the optimal choice that delivers the highest CO2 reduction per euro spent and creating a hierarchy of abatement costs and options.

 
Sequence of CO2 abatement costs include:
-Focus on efficiency gains as readily available and most cost efficient opportunities:
-Optimise use of existing infrastructures:

-Invest in R&D to remove barriers to commercialisation

Policy recommendations

As regulation works, long-term policies should have a sound analytical basis using common methodologies to assess their effectiveness and their viability: Well-to-Wheel analysis, segmental analysis, and CO2 abatement cost analysis.
Policy goals focused on reducing CO2 in transport have the greatest chance to succeed and to maintain the value of low cost mobility in Europe if CO2 abatement costs are optimised and prioritised.

 
EUROPIA proposes six key parameters for EU transportation policies and legislation:

1. Maintain the economic and social value of cost-effective mobility through realistic objectives and attainable standards

2. Promote a framework for consistent and predictable CO2 abatement cost across the entire economy to minimize costs to society, enable proper investment/divestment planning, facilitate progressive technology introduction

3. Avoid direct or indirect technology mandates or prescriptions, and facilitate research and development of competing technologies

4. Recognise that energy efficiency improvements are the most cost-efficient opportunity to reduce Well-to-Wheel CO2 emissions for all transportation segments

5. Ensure consistent application of energy taxation levels to all energy products (oil, coal, gas, biomass, electricity) based on the energy content and potentially the CO2 emitted when the product is consumed at a level consistent with the Emission Trading System (ETS) CO2 market price

 
6. Assess thoroughly the continued viability of infrastructures for supply of oil products, including EU refining and associated distribution and marketing infrastructure, throughout the reduction of consumption and as long as these products are the most cost competitive, and as key for EU industrial competitiveness, such as chemicals, etc.

The EUROPIA White Paper on Fuelling EU Transport is available for download on www.europia.com

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