Dirk Sterckx, Belgian MEP, longtime transport specialist: "Sustainability is the key"

As climate change laws and fuel scarcity start to bite into the petrol-based economy, Europe will have to battle to uphold the principle of sustainability in transport, says Belgian MEP and veteran transport specialist Dirk Sterckx.

“Sustainability is the main concept,” Sterckx says, looking ahead to Europe’s transport challenges over the next few years. “Not only from the environmental impact angle, but also if we succeed in keeping transport flowing. That is the big question: congestion and environment.”

Dirk Sterckx, 62, has enjoyed a colourful career. After studying German philology at Ghent University, he taught languages before working as a journalist at the former public Belgian broadcaster BRT. He rose to become head of news before being elected MEP in 1999, and was briefly chairman of his Flemish liberal party Open VLD in 2004. Much of his work in the Parliament has involved transport and environmental issues, and he ranks as his biggest achievement his role in developing new rules for maritime safety.

Re-elected in June for a third term as MEP, Sterckx says that strictly speaking, the recession has been a boon to the environment. “If you narrow it to its environmental impact, then it is brilliant. The year from September 2008 until September 2009 will be fantastic from an emissions point of view,” he says. “But this is not sustainable.”

Environmental imperatives still need to direct efforts towards cleaner vehicle technologies, he says. But Sterckx does not imagine vehicle manufacturers will develop such technologies for altruistic reasons – rather for economical ones. “We are going to go back to a situation where energy will be scarce and more expensive,” he says. “This will be the main driver for energy efficiency. By solving the energy question we can keep our standard of living. If not we’re in trouble.”

When it comes to broader questions about the capacity of Europe’s transport sector, Sterckx says the different transport modes need to be brought closer so there is a synergy of effort and an effective network linkage between them. “We need to make the switch in between the modes and make them economically viable,” he says.

There has been much debate in recent years about pricing systems that push goods and passengers from one transport mode to another. This is linked to questions about the real costs of transport systems, and how some are already indirectly subsidized through government infrastructure investment. Sterckx says charging modes for their real cost is something that may have to be adopted, but he wants an open debate on it. “If you want to solve transport and mobility problems you have to have a clever system that uses revenues in the direction you want to go. But it has to be a policy instrument, not a taxation instrument,” he says.

Sterckx is reluctant to prescribe too much market intervention, but he does insist that there should be a Europe-wide market for transport services. The lack of competition, he says, is particularly prevalent in rail. “The two big players, Deutsche Bahn and SNCF are building their power and buying more players. They don’t compete,” he says. “It is not about the number of railway companies operating on the network. The question is about competition. Does the customer have a real choice? We need a strong legal framework and it has to improve real competition.”

Addressing congestion, Sterckx says Europe will have to improve infrastructure for all modes. “If you have congestion charging and use the revenue to have alternatives, than this is the right way to go, cross modes,” he says. “However, this will not be quick nor easy and will be expensive. Congestion is never going to go away. We want to move around more and more.”

Sterckx says he has learnt a lot from his trips abroad in parliamentary delegations. He regrets that China’s economic overhaul meant the country’s long bicycle traditions were destroyed. And he says Europe can learn from New York’s efforts in recent years to improve the attractiveness of its subway.

He says that he hopes to use the next five-year parliamentary term to continue work on sustainability and on opening up the market. “We should not lose the wider perspective,” Sterckx says. “We should not go for populist short term solutions. We should not think that higher taxes will solve the problem by itself. There are no miracles. Progress is slow.”

The economic crisis will overschadow everything in the transport sector for years to come, says Fuensanta Martinez-Sans, Director for Transport Policy and Public Relations at the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA). She says the recession has already hit the transport sector badly, and will continue to have a massive knock-on affect for transport-related policies.

However, the European Commission’s Communication on the future transport policy, published last June, fails to mention it at all. “I was shocked to see there was nothing in the Communication about the biggest recession in living memory,” she says. 

The downturn has been especially severe for commercial vehicle manufacturers, Martinez-Sans says, as the financial crisis has drastically limited access to credit, while the economic crisis has seen a dramatic drop in demand. “No-one expected it, nobody knows exactly how long it will last, or its final impact on the economy and on transport in particular,” she says. “It is obvious that the downturn will have an effect on our lives. So can we really be sure about the forecasts for the future in these circumstances?”

Martinez-Sans says vehicle manufacturers welcome the chance to debate transport issues, and see how the environment, fuel shortages, and other factors will shape policy over the next few decades. She says the Commission Communication, which inaugurates a year-long debate on transport policy, is a step forward, it even leaves a lot of unanswered questions. “We need all the stakeholders to come together to talk about these issues,” she says. “We cannot operate in isolation – we need everyone to work together to tackle the big issues like efficiency and congestion.”

ACEA’s overall objectives echo the Commission’s broad aims, Martinez-Sans says. “We aim to meet Europe’s economic, social and environmental needs,” she says. “People sometimes think we are just concerned with the bottom line, but we are committed to delivering the best and most efficient possible products, in the most sustainable way.” Transport is part of the European sustainable growth and competitiveness, she says – and road transport fulfils an overwhelming majority of the transport needs of companies and individuals in Europe.

Martinez Sans says vehicle manufacturers are fully committed to improving their environmental performance, but in the current circumstances, the Commission Communication puts too much emphasis on the immediate environmental investment expected from them. “The Communication announces additional measures on noise, emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions,” she says. “But we are disappointed that there is no reference to an integrated approach for reducing CO2 emissions, which includes aspects such as driver behaviour, fuel and infrastructure.”

One of the keys to cutting emissions is simply the renewal of fleets, Martinez Sans says. “The old vehicle makes more emissions than the new one,” she says. “So we should promote fleet renewal as part of any future policy aiming at providing a sustainable transport system.”

She backs alternative fuels to help reducing CO2 emissions, action from fuel companies and public authorities is needed to develop them and make them available on a large scale.

Martinez Sans says a key issue that should be addressed in the EU’s transport review is infrastructure investment. “This can no longer be delayed,” she says. “Europe’s transport infrastructure, especially its road network, is falling behind what is required for a modern economy. This has created bottlenecks and increased congestion and CO2 emissions.”