In an open letter dated April 19, 2022, 175 scientists call on the European Parliament and the European Council to design the further development of legal regulations for climate protection in the transport sector in a way that is technology-neutral and primarily based on the criteria of sustainability and the real, physical reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Climate protection needs innovation. Renewable and alternative fuels are essential for climate protection in the mobility sector and serve energy security.
This is what the 175 signatories from a wide range of disciplines stand for and previously addressed in an open letter on June 17, 2021, to the European Commission during the development of the Fit for 55 package.
This open letter has now been updated and addressed to the EU Parliament and the EU Council.
The signatories are convinced that the changes to the legal regulations planned by the European Commission, in particular, the CO2 fleet regulation for passenger cars and heavy-duty vehicles as well as the Energy Taxation Directive (ETD) and the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) inadequately address these points for setting essential and sustainable framework conditions for long-term climate protection.
Innovations only thrive on the ground of technological openness, which we miss in the planned changes to the legal regulations on climate protection in transport, the two initiators, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Willner from the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg and Dr. Armin Günther from Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions Deutschland GmbH in Frankfurt am Main say.
The main requests in the letter are:
- The expected real GHG reductions of the planned measures are to be disclosed and set transparently under consideration of the remaining carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions budget of the EU in the context of the objective to limit global warming to 1.5-degrees C;
- The potential of GHG reductions through sustainable alternative liquids and gaseous fuels is to be used without restriction;
- All climate protection measures should be accounted for in the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction quota solely based on their real GHG reductions (i.e. no multiple counting;
- Multiple counting of individual measures or technologies on the GHG quota obligation is to be rejected;
- Every climate protection measure must be subject to equally strict sustainability criteria that take into account ecological, social, and health impacts across the entire global value chain while being technology-neutral;
- Against the background of the immense and ever-growing time pressure in mitigating climate change, the following criteria for climate protection measures should be met:
a. They have to lead to real GHG reductions without delay;
b. They must not cause any export of GHG emissions or of carbon leakage across the entire global value chain and under consideration of sector couplings;
c. It must be possible to apply them globally and quickly.
Address one-sided promotion of e-mobility
The signatories want to support political decision-makers in setting the right course for climate protection in transport and thus achieving the ambitious climate protection targets.
Especially since the CO2 Fleet Regulation ignores the defossilization of the existing vehicle fleet.
In view of the enormous and ever-increasing time pressure, we can no longer afford to make omissions and mistakes in climate protection. Climate protection measures must take effect immediately after their implementation. We, therefore, want to stimulate a broad discussion on this topic on a scientific basis and call for a transparent and technology-neutral climate protection policy that is based on real physical greenhouse gas reductions along the entire value chain, said Prof. Willner.
In this area, he sees a considerable need for improvement in legal regulations. The signatories are convinced that the current regulations represent a one-sided promotion of electromobility (e-mobility) that cannot be physically justified in this form.
For example, the CO2 Fleet Regulation credits e-mobility with zero CO2 emissions, while renewable and other alternative fuels are not taken into account at all.
This prevents fair competition for the best solutions to the problems because the actual greenhouse gas reductions are not considered. The climate only reacts to real physical greenhouse gas quantities and not to factors arbitrarily determined by politicians for the crediting of measures, Prof. Willner emphasized.
No significant GHG reduction
Based on available studies such as the Cradle-to-Grave Life-Cycle Assessment in the Mobility Sector, the signatories conclude that e-mobility will in all likelihood not lead to any significant GHG reductions in the period up to 2030, which is crucial for the long-term success or failure of climate protection.
In particular, the high CO2 emissions caused by the construction of batteries, the high share of fossil fuels in power generation that will still exist for a long time, and the enormous expense of the charging infrastructure.
In addition, e-mobility would tie up the renewable potential of the electricity sector in the transport sector that would then be lacking elsewhere, for example, in industry.
Legislation needs to create a level playing field
Prof. Willner’s research group sees other solutions, such as sustainable, GHG-saving alternative fuels (liquid and gaseous, including renewable hydrogen, methane, and others), “that we believe would be far more effective because they would immediately deliver real greenhouse gas reductions to the existing fleet of more than 260 million vehicles in the EU – without the need for new infrastructure.”
Legislation urgently needs to create a level playing field for these options, Prof. Willner said.
In parallel, the development of new markets in the field of clean mobility should be addressed, notably by setting ambitious targets for the roll-out of hydrogen recharging stations along the main transport corridors in the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation that is currently discussed by EU co-legislators.
Diversification of different renewable pathways
The “H2Mobility Deutschland” initiative, for example, provides for this in order to meet rising hydrogen demand in the mobility sector.
The key to decarbonizing the mobility and industrial sectors and supporting energy security is the diversification of different renewable pathways as well as the further development of new and the optimization of existing technology pathways, said co-initiator Dr. Armin Günther.
According to a recent study, Synthetic Fuels: potential for Europe, more than one million new jobs could be created in Europe, the signatories highlight.
With the introduction of such e-fuels next to hydrogen, Europe would also have the chance to contribute to covering its very high energy import demand based on renewable energies.
In addition, this would advance the international cooperation that is urgently needed for climate protection. After all, climate protection is a task that can only be solved globally.
Christian Elvers, the initiative’s press spokesman, uses the war in Ukraine as an opportunity to make a further appeal.
We are currently seeing how closely climate protection and energy security are intertwined. A market ramp-up of climate-neutral, non-fossil fuels in Europe is already possible today. This will not only help us make progress in climate protection but also reduce our dependence on fossil energy imports, Christian Elvers said.
