All news & events

On the 29 March, MEP Karima Delli, chairwoman of the Transport and Tourism committee (TRAN) of the European Parliament, presented a joint declaration also signed by ERA, CER and ERFA to call policymakers to implement policies that will support the transport of goods by train. The declaration highlighted the urgent need to address the climate emergency and emphasized the critical role that rail freight can play in achieving this goal.

Aspirations to double Europe’s intermodal market share by 2050 received a major blow by the European Court of Auditors (ECA), which described the plan as ‘unrealistic’ in a report published on 27 March. The court pointed to ‘serious deficiencies’ surrounding funding, harmonisation of EU regulations, lack of visibility on existing and required rail infrastructure and the dominance of road freight.

Last week, U.S. Representative Jim Costa (Democrat, California) reintroduced the bipartisan Ocean Shipping Antitrust Enforcement Act, which would repeal the exemption for foreign ocean carriers from all federal antitrust laws and address unfair practices from shipping lines, harming American businesses, producers, and consumers.

On the 30 March, the European Parliament and the Swedish Presidency of the Council reached a provisional deal on the Renewable energy Directive (RED). The negotiators agreed to increase the share of renewable energy in the EU's total energy consumption to 42.5% by 2030, with an additional 2.5% indicative top-up that could allow the target to reach 45%.

CLECAT was present this week at the SITL Transport and Logistics Innovation Week in Paris, a major event that brings together professionals from the transport and logistics industry.

On 28 March, the European Parliament and the Swedish Presidency of the Council struck a deal on the provisional deal on the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR). The agreement aims to expand the deployment of recharging or alternative refuelling stations for cars, trucks and ships, setting minimum mandatory national targets for the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure and requires EU countries to present their plans on how to achieve them.

On 21 March, CLECAT participated to the Commission’s stakeholder workshop on the impact of digitalisation and automation in the transport workforce. Representatives of employers’ organisations, trade unions and public authorities got the chance to identify the challenges related to the digital transition in transport and discuss possible solutions.

The ISO 14083 standard – “Greenhouse gases — Quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions arising from transport chain operations” was published by the ISO Committee on 20 March 2023, after around three and a half years of preparation. CLECAT welcomes the much-awaited publication of the new international standard which is expected to support the industry globally in its carbon reduction efforts by providing the first universal method for logistics emissions accounting.