TRAN COMMITTEE DEBATES ‘FIT FOR 55’ PACKAGE
On 1 September, MEPs from the Transport and Tourism (TRAN) Committee held an exchange of views with DG MOVE Deputy Director-General Maja Bakran, which presented the transport-related proposals of the Fit for 55 Package, namely the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation, the creation of an ETS for road transport, FuelEU Maritime and ReFuelEU Aviation.
MEPs welcomed the Commission proposals aiming at reducing emissions from the transport sector but warned that the new measures would lead to increasing costs and investments for consumers and companies. They questioned the ambition of the EU Social Climate Fund to mitigate these consequences. Ms Bakran announced that around €144 billion will be mobilised through this Fund between 2025 and 2032.
On the AFIR proposal, MEPs overall welcomed the binding targets and the choice of a Regulation as the appropriate legislative instrument. However, MEP Ismail Ertug (S&D, Germany) noted that the targets for heavy-duty vehicles are not sufficiently ambitious to support the uptake of alternatively powered HDVs. MEP Ciaran Cuffe (Greens/EFA, Ireland) regretted that rail was not included in the proposal, and that the promotion of LNG and hydrogen from non-renewable sources would create the risk of carbon lock-in. In order to meet the targets of the AFIR proposal Ms Bakran noted that investment costs of €10 billion would be needed between 2021 and 2030, and around €80 billion until 2050. Notably, she referred to the different funding instruments such as CEF and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, for which Member States submitted projects dedicated to charging infrastructure development.