The transport sector accounts for nearly a quarter of the European Union’s greenhouse gas emissions and remains the largest contributor to urban air pollution. Unlike other major sectors of the economy, transport emissions have not experienced structural declines over the past decade and could increase by as much as 60% by 2050 if no further action is taken.

With over a hundred years of development around conventional fuels, today’s transport infrastructure and value chain will need significant capital to transition to cleaner technologies. Meeting the EU’s net-zero objectives is estimated to require around €265 billion annual investments between 2025 and 2030 within the transport sector, with the bulk of this funding expected to come from private capital.

Decarbonizing transport is a multimodal challenge encompassing road, rail, maritime and aviation, each with different emission profiles and levels of technological maturity. Road transport represents the largest share, accounting for roughly 73% of EU transport emissions, compared with just 0.3% for rail. Aviation and maritime account for around 23% of transport emissions and 2–3% of global CO₂ output; as other sectors decarbonize and global trade continues to expand, they may contribute to more than 40% of residual emissions by 2050. As road transport carries over half of EU freight and nearly 80% of passenger traffic and accounts for most transport emissions, decarbonizing it is critical to deliver meaningful emissions reductions.

You can now read the full whitepaper at the link below