Informe El medio ambiente en Europa: Estado y perspectivas 2020

PART 3
estimated to require approximately
15-25 % more energy, thus needing
more fuel than conventional plants.
This would lead to increased direct
emissions of air pollutants from CCS
plants, including particulate matter and
nitrogen dioxide (EEA, 2011a).
Overall, the energy system has the
most developed and comprehensive
EU policy framework, which covers
aspects ranging from energy security
to the internal market and to climate
and environmental considerations. It
concerns aspects of both production and
final consumption. However, options for
achieving net-zero carbon emissions,
such as those envisaged by the
long-term climate-neutral strategy
(EC, 2018f), largely focus on technology
options and expected efficiency gains
across all sectors of the economy. There
is much less focus on other levers such
as behaviour and lifestyles (e.g. less
carbon-intensive diets and modes
of transport, limited demand for air
transport, reduced demand for heating
and cooling). Research on climate
change tends to focus on mitigation
and supply-side technological solutions,
while a better understanding of
behaviours and norms that determine
households consumption is often
overlooked (Creutzig et al., 2018).
Achieving change requires engaging
several actors within the energy
system, as well as taking advantage
of multiple leverage points. The EU
institutions and Member States define
policies, regulate the functioning of
the energy market, ensure security of
supply and have the final choice over
the national energy mix (EU, 2012).
They are also responsible for creating
enabling conditions for new entrants
to the energy market, limiting market
dominance and the power of incumbent
system operators and strengthening the
rights of individual consumers. Although
they promote energy efficiency and
new and renewable forms of energy
production, and also influence energy
Policies for achieving net-zero
carbon emissions often
focus on technology
and efficiency gains rather
than behaviours and lifestyles.
policy indirectly by mitigating climate
and environmental impacts across the
energy system, they are just one among
the many actors influencing citizens’
choices and lifestyles.
A broader set of actors, such as
non-governmental organisations, energy
service companies, grassroots platforms,
think tanks, academia, innovation centres,
sponsors and the media, will potentially
enable the conditions for creating policy
and converting regulation into practice
(Backhaus, 2010). Most importantly, they
are well suited to promoting changes in
norms, habits and practices in ways that
can reduce consumption of direct and
embedded energy. Changes in these
aspects should be deployed, together
with stronger policy instruments, such as
taxing unsustainable energy carriers and
their emissions, and removing fossil fuel
subsidies. Such measures would promote
cross-sectoral and demand-side changes
towards a more sustainable configuration
of the energy system.
16.4
The mobility system
16.4.1
The mobility systems at a glance
The mobility system spans all resources,
structures and activities involved in
moving physical objects, including
both people and goods. It is a complex
system shaped by a multitude of forces
— including economic and broader
societal ones, such as cultural norms
and lifestyles — evolving over long time
scales. The transport sector addressed
in Chapter 13 is just one of these
components, albeit a fundamental one.
The transport sector is generally
defined as an economic activity (see
Eurostat, 2018o) and described in
terms of GVA, employment, number
of enterprises, etc. In contrast, the
mobility system includes aspects that
go beyond economic activity, such
as personal mobility and individual
behaviour, infrastructures, urban and
regional planning, investments, policy
and regulatory measures, as well as a
multitude of actors such as producers,
users, policymakers and civil society.
For the purpose of this assessment,
the boundaries of the system are
defined by the geographical focus on
Europe and its global transport links.
The specific properties of different
modes of transport (road, rail, aviation
and maritime, walking, cycling), such
as capacity, speed and infrastructural
requirements, define the supply side
of transport and have a strong effect
on mobility choices. In addition,
mobility-related industries account for
a significant share of the EU’s economy
and employment. For example, the
production of motor vehicles alone
accounted for 2.4 million jobs in 2015
(Eurostat, 2018a).
The mobility system shows marked
diversity across Europe, concerning
aspects such as network infrastructure
and connectivity, modes of transport,
share of renewable fuels, car ownership
and overall demand (EEA, 2018j;
EC, 2018l; Eurostat, 2018n), as well as
socio-economic and geographical
variations. For example, an increase in
levels of car ownership, resulting in bigger
car fleets, has been observed, particularly
in countries joining the EU since 2004,
alongside an expansion
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