Joint Transport and Environment Informal Council
The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Amber Rudd)
Today my noble hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth) has made the following statement:
I attended the Joint Transport and Environment Informal Council in Amsterdam on 14 and 15 April.
The main focus of the meeting was on the future of European transport, the challenges in the transition to a zero-emissions economy and the steps that should be taken in the EU to develop a sustainable and smart transport and mobility system.
On 14 April, Environment Ministers were invited to discuss “Green Mobility” and the possibilities of hastening and scaling up the transition towards cleaner fuels and zero-emissions mobility. I outlined the UK’s approach to the future development of new car C02 emissions regulation that promotes a quicker transition to low emission vehicles. In parallel, Transport Ministers were invited to discuss “Smart Mobility” and asked in particular to offer reflections on the proposed Amsterdam declaration on connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs), where Department for Transport officials offered support. Discussion focused on the ways Europe could adopt a more co-ordinated approach, to ensure the technologies would be developed with inter-operability in mind and the main challenges with respect to legislation, co-operative intelligent transport systems, liability, data protection and privacy.
Following lunch, I participated in a joint visit to an Innovation Expo showcasing more than 200 projects and innovative designs on various topics. I then attended a joint Transport and Environment interactive session on Innovating for the Future where Ministers were invited to explore future scenarios for smart and green mobility, and discuss their priorities for achieving these future scenarios.
The following day, Transport and Environment Ministers were invited jointly to discuss the follow up to COP21 in international aviation and shipping. The focus was on how both Transport and Environment Ministers could best work together, and how Europe could contribute to negotiations at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Overall, there was positive momentum during this discussion, with Ministers recognising the link between international aviation and shipping emissions and the long term goal set out in the Paris agreement. In the context of the negotiations to agree a global market-based measure in ICAO, Ministers also recognised the importance of achieving carbon neutral growth of international aviation from 2020 and the inclusion of a review mechanism to increase ambition over time. There was strong support for progress in the IMO to agree a global system to collect data on fuel consumption of ships and subsequent development of a work plan to identify international shipping’s fair share of global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Transport Ministers also met to discuss how the transport sector is, or will be, affected by border controls in the Schengen area. This session touched on transport security presenting member states with the opportunity to convey their condolences following the recent tragedy in Brussels and also to exchange views on transport security measures.
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