Some of Europe’s key auto industry players including Alstom, Siemens and Tesla teamed up with T&E and other NGOs last week to urge EU policymakers and governments to help accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles across the continent. The group has also produced a video highlighting the potential for electromobility.
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Each electric vehicle saves annually more than a thousand liters of fuel, according to consultants Cambridge Econometrics, saving €1,000 in fuel cost and three tonnes of CO2 emissions. There are already half a million electric vehicles on Europe’s roads. If we accelerate the transition away from transport based on fossil fuels, the EU would save around €500 million a day, create high quality jobs, and could save hundreds of thousands of lives by cutting air pollution.
The coalition of 24 organisations called for more charging stations and greater provisions for vehicle charging from buildings, among other measures. They also urged EU governments to submit their plans for supporting charging infrastructure, which they were required to do before the end of last year, but only 17 have done.
T&E’s clean vehicles and emobility officer, Yoann Le Petit, concluded: ‘As Europe decarbonises its electricity supply, electro-mobility provides a unique solution to clean up Europe’s vehicles. Emobility also contributes to drastically reducing noise and pollutant emissions, thus addressing crucial public health issues of concern for EU citizens.’
