Transport White Paper: Where do we stand?

EESC, 06 March 2015Kathrin Obst, EFIP Director

European Federation of Inland Ports

• Was created in 1994• Represents around 200 inland ports in 17 countries of the European Union, Switzerland and Ukraine • The unique voice of inland ports in Europe• An important information network for and about inland ports• A “promoter” of inland ports

EFIP’s triple role:

• The unique voice of inland ports in Europe• An important information network for and about inland ports• A “promoter” of inland ports

Source: Port of Strasbourg

Different Roles of Ports• Multimodal hub on the European Transport Corridors:

– Interface between the maritime and land modes of transport (rail road and IWT).

– Extended gates of the major seaports.

• Interface between long distance transport and local logistics – allows for cargo bundling: – Sustainable city logistics and use of small waterways

• Platform for the regional economy: Market place where companies can conveniently choose the most suitable mode of transport according to their needs; often combined with logistics services.

Transport White Paper

The Transport White Paper

-60% Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050

Avoid unnecessary transport

Encourage use of sustainable modes

Make individual modes more efficient and green

The 2011 Transport White Paper

-60% Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050

Avoid unnecessary transport

Encourage use of sustainable modes

Make individual modes more efficient and green

• Naiades II (IWT)• Railway package• Ports package• Weights and dimensions

of road vehicles• NRMM• etc.

• TEN-T and CEF (But 2.7bn budget cut through EFSI!)

Planned:• E-freight• Price incentives

(internalisation of external costs/road charging)

• “Curbing mobility is not an option.”

What more could we do?Avoid unnecessary transport Encourage use of sustainable modes

Strategic land use •Avoid/minimise last-mile road transport by strategically situating companies in ports/on the water and by forming thematic clusters of companies

Example Wood Cluster Aschaffenburg:

What more could we do?Avoid unnecessary transport Encourage use of sustainable modes

Facilitate Cargo bundling:

•Foster cooperation to bundle volumes and increase connections and frequencies: • Between inland ports: Upper Rhine Ports • With sea ports: HaRoPa, Ghent-Terneuzen• Between terminals: GALA network in Belgium• Etc.

•Use of joint planning tools (e.g. container cloud) => E-freight

What more could we do?Avoid unnecessary transport Encourage use of sustainable modes

Set price incentivesInternalisation of external costs of transport (polluter pays) can help users find transport alternatives that are best for the environment and the economy. But:

• Distinguish clearly from infrastructure costs (user pays)• Very complex in ports, as many industries located in the port area are

already subject to their own sector specific rules and charges (avoid double taxation)

Reduce transhipment costsFinancial support for transhipment facilities and infrastructure to bring down cost of combined transport for end users (TEN-T/CEF)

White Paper Goals

1) CO2-free city logistics by 2030:Think beyond electric cars!

Waste removal:

Around 2.3 bn tons of waste generated in the EU every year

60% of this amount is transported by trucks

Lille: 216.000 containers/year by barge (20.000 trucks)

1) CO2-free city logistics by 2030:Think beyond electric cars!

Paris Freight Distribution: Delivery to Franprix supermarkets by barge

Urban last mile by truck

26 containers or 450 pallets/day

Modal shift of 450.000 tkm

CO2 savings of 37%

3) Shift 30% of road freight transport above 300km to rail and IWW by 2030:

Think of shorter distances, too!

Seaport Hinterland traffic:

More than 800 000 t/year are transported by IWW between the ports of Antwerp and Brussels.

More is possible!

75% of road freight is on distances below 150km (Eurostat) and thus not covered by this goal.

5) TEN-T and CEF: Don’t ruin success by cutting funds now!

• Focus on multimodality• Focus on sustainability• Has potential to substantially

improve performance of individual modes by removing bottlenecks

• But also connections between modes that enable more sustainable transport chains

• EFSI proposal cuts CEF transport budget by EUR 2.7bn (-18% for non-Cohesion countries)

5) Juncker Plan/EFSI Proposal

• Proposes to cut CEF transport budget by EUR 2.7bn (-18% for non-Cohesion countries)

• So far no ring-fencing for transport• No focus on TEN-T• Investments will follow a different

logic (purely revenue driven) – this shifts the priorities away from those defined in TEN-T.

• Cutting the grants budget will reduce the possibility of using blending of grants and financial instruments to make projects attractive to investors.

Initiative 5)A framework for Inland

Waterway transport

Naiades II

Key issues:

•Not all inland waterway corridors are fully navigable (Danube, Elbe)Danube Fairway Rehabilitation and Maintenance Plan:Endorsed by all Member States but one in December 2014 Action must now follow!

•Harmonisation of navigation rules across river basins:Cooperation between CCNR and EC foreseen as part of Naiades IIWork in Council ongoingHarmonisation also with third countries will be necessary to avoid unfair competition.

•In view of the difficult financial situation of the sector, proposals for stricter emission standards for vessel engines need to be accompanied by financial support for funding of retro-fitting.

More Information

Kathrin.Obst@inlandports.be