Green Deal is a historic opportunity to fix our broken transport system

Thursday 16 Dec 2021
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Cutting-edge technology may seem to offer the mobility solutions of the future but what is really needed is a remaking of our transport system to ensure it is accessible, affordable, and sustainable, argues Ciarán Cuffe.

Ciarán Cuffe is an Irish member of the European Parliament affiliated with the Greens/EFA group. He is a member of the Parliament’s transport and energy committees.

Will it be hyperloops and flying cars, or quieter streets and cleaner air? Hopefully, the latter will come to pass as Europe reinvents transport over the coming decades.

Everyone should be able to travel in a safe, secure, accessible, affordable, and sustainable way, writes MEP Ciarán Cuffe. [mark_gusev / Shutterstock.com]

Keeping to our climate targets can improve lives: reliable trains, less emissions, and fifteen-minute neighbourhoods where all that you need can be reached within a short bike ride or a few minutes’ walk.

The EU has given citizens and businesses the opportunity to work, travel and trade across the continent. This has fostered cultural exchange, allowed people to follow their dreams, and fostered economic growth.

However, the transport system that facilitates this movement comes with a cost. A 2016 study commissioned by DG MOVE found that the external costs for transport in the EU amount to €987 billion per year.

Read the full article here.

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