Innovative, sustainable solutions for green mobility were a central topic of the minister’s agenda. Ministers agreed that for healthy environment and improving air quality specially in cities the transition to low or zero-emission fuels and vehicles is essential. To reach the global climate goals and to reduce EU fossil energy import dependency, rapid technological development is indispensable.
Parallel to the meeting of the environment ministers on green mobility, transport ministers discussed the topic of smart mobility and adopted the Declaration of Amsterdam on cooperation in the field of connected and automated driving. Ministers agreed that connected and autonomous driving technologies would lead to less CO2 emissions, safer and cleaner transport, less congestions on the roads, while at the same time Ministers also draw the attention to different challenges such as data protection, cybercrime, type approval, interoperability, common highway code, strengthening the digital infrastructure, liability and insurance issues. Several Member States reported that there are ongoing pilot projects and testing in this filed, and some of them already cooperate in different cross-border projects. Delegations were on the opinion that close cooperation is needed between Member States, EU institutions and stakeholders in order to allow these innovative systems to become available on the market.
After the discussions, Ministers visited the Innovation Expo in Amsterdam which is a showcase for of more than 200 projects and innovative designs on various topics such as urban design, mobility, circular economy, food production, logistics and water management. Transport ministers also had the chance to experience autonomous cars of different car manufacturers.
During the informal meeting the ministers also discussed the role of aviation and maritime transport sectors in reducing emissions. The ministers were unanimously of opinion that aviation and maritime transport should contribute to the long term global efforts. The emissions should be reduced in both sectors, because emissions will increase considerably by 2030 according to current projections. Urgent and efficient measures should be introduced for emissions reduction. Ministers emphasized the role of international negotiations – with participation of EU Member States - under the International Civil Aviation Organization and International Maritime Organization. They urged to introduce the monitoring of emissions and adopt global market based measure for emissions reduction as soon as possible.
Transport Ministers also touched upon the issue of transport security in the light of the recent terror attacks in Brussels, and briefly discussed how the transport sector is affected by border controls due to migration.
The Declaration of Amsterdam can be read here.
