Future road transport and associated fuels

Over the past year, many new initiatives have been launched in the area of sustainable transport. The EU Commission’s ‘White Paper’ on European Transport Policy was issued in 2001, followed by initiatives on biofuels, other ‘renewable’ fuels and diversification of energy supply.

Both DG TREN and DG Environment currently have work programmes under way aimed at new policy development, with specific emphasis on compressed natural gas (CNG) and hydrogen, while DG Research’s proposed 6th Research Framework Programme aims to develop longer-term knowledge on sustainable transport, including alternative and renewable energy supplies.

There are also a number of individual Member State initiatives in this area.