Do something for our planet, print this page only if needed. Even a small action can make an enormous difference when millions of people do it!
Indicator Assessment
Between 1990 and 2007, annual transport energy consumption in the EU-27 showed continual growth. However, this trend reversed in 2008 as the effects of the economic recession brought about three years of negative growth. Between 2007 and 2009, total energy demand in the transport sector declined by 4.2%. The most recent published data for 2010 indicates a bottoming out of this recent decline with a drop in energy demand between 2009 and 2010 of just 0.3%. Preliminary estimates for 2011 hint on a return to growth in transport energy demand with a minor increase of 0.1% over 2011.
Outside the EU‑27, over the last decade Switzerland's growth in road transport energy use has been below the EU‑27 average, while its rail energy use has increased compared to an average reduction across the EU‑27. By contrast, Norway and particularly Turkey have seen road transport energy use grow faster than the EU‑27 while Turkey's rail energy use has fallen substantially more than in EU‑27 Member States.
The shipping sector saw the greatest decline in energy consumption during the recession; bunkers dropped by 10 % in 2009 compared to 2007, reflecting weak consumer demand. However, this was also the first transport sector to see a return to growth; over 1% between 2009 and 2010. Combined energy use for aviation, rail and shipping has reduced by 5.2 % between 2007 and 2011. The greatest reduction was for domestic navigation (10.2 %), followed by aviation (5.7 %) and rail (5.3 %). Road transport represents the largest energy consumer, accounting for 72 % of total demand in 2011. It has also been the least affected by the economic downturn, falling by only 3.9 % between 2007 and 2011.
Transport energy consumption (EEA-32 excluding Iceland and Liechtenstein)
Note: Bar chart showing final energy consumption broken down by different fuel types. Orange line shows total energy consumption for oil derived fuels, dotted red line shows transport target on oil consumption that applies to EU27 (Transport White Paper, 2011).
Final energy consumption by transport modes between 1990-2010 in EU27 (Mega tonnes of oil equivalent)
Note: The total energy consumption in transport in Mtoe from 1990 onwards. Transport modes included are bunkers (sea), air transport (domestic and international), inland navigation, rail transport and road transport (split by passenger and freight). The most recent year is an extrapolation based on monthly fuel deliveries.
Energy consumption from transport has grown by over 30% since 1990. Energy efficiency has improved during this period – for example, the energy efficiency of the average new passenger car in Europe improved by over 20% in the past decade (EEA, 2012). However the effects of these efficiency improvements have been offset by an overall increase in transport demand. The effects of the recent economic recession brought about a marked decrease in overall energy consumption through 2008 to 2010. Records show that total transport energy consumption was nearly 4.5 % lower in 2010 compared to an overall peak in 2007. However, this slump is likely to be temporary, with estimates for 2011 seeing a 0.1% increase over 2010. Longer term projections for the region foresee that economic recovery will sustain renewed growth in transport energy consumption to at least 2020 (albeit at a lesser rate than in the previous decade, as policies designed to reduce transport energy use begin to take effect). Though this period, transport demand is expected to grow faster than energy consumption, in other words the energy intensity of transport will decrease.
The EEA 32 countries[1] consumed approximately 441 Mtoe providing energy for transport in 2010. The vast majority, 82.7 %, is consumed by the original 15 Member States, with 10.7 % consumed by the new 12 Member States and the remaining 6.6% by other EEA countries.
The 12 new EU Member States have collectively increased consumption by 68 % since 1990; despite many of these new member states initially recording a decline in the early nineties, reflecting the economic difficulties experienced in the transition to market economies. Only three Member States consumed less energy in 2010 compared to 1990: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Three have more than doubled their energy consumption over the same period: the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia. Malta has recorded a five-fold increase in its transport energy consumption almost solely through increases in shipping activity (bunker fuels).
Until the first effects of the recession appeared in 2008, transport energy consumption in the 15 original EU Member States had shown steady growth since 1990. In 2010, all of the EU-15 Member States experienced a continuation of the reduction in transport energy consumption compared to the peak in 2007. However, the decline between 2009 and 2010 was much less pronounced, signalling a bottoming out of the period of contraction. Italy, Spain and the UK have experienced the greatest absolute decrease through this period, primarily due to reductions in road transport. However, total energy consumption in the EU15 is still nearly 30% higher than it was in 1990.
Road transport energy consumption over the period has increased by 80 % in the new EU12 Member States and by 22 % in the original EU-15. These figures suggest that modes which require longer-term planning and more dedicated infrastructure than road transport are less popular for supporting fast economic development. The lack of goods transported by sea in all EU-12 Member States (with the exception of Malta) may also be a result of their geographical location, with fewer major ports currently in the EU-12 than in the EU-15.
Aviation shows the strongest growth of all modes, increasing by 79 % since 1990. However, the sector also registered the largest fall in energy consumption (and the largest reduction in passenger demand) through the recession, showing a 7 % reduction compared to the previous year.
The low share of rail is partly due to a relatively small modal share, but also because in most situations rail transport is less energy-intensive than the main competitors. Of all the modes, only rail has lower energy consumption in 2010 compared to 1990. This reduction has been less pronounced in some countries, in part attributed to movements of national and international freight which are strongly linked with geographical location of countries. Countries registering the highest share of international transport are located in key corridors within the European market. In the Baltic States of Latvia and Estonia, situated at the border between Europe and Russia, international transport accounted for 91 % and 89 % respectively of the total transport in 2010. For those in the periphery such as the UK and Turkey, the share is much lower, 2 % and 9 % respectively (Eurostat 2012)
The energy consumption from inland water transport for the whole of the EU has remained fairly constant during the 1990s and 2000s. The sector experienced a resurgence in activity up until the recent recession, most notably in the EU-15, with energy consumption in 2007 up 12 % on the 1990 level in the EEA member countries.
Across the EEA member countries energy consumption in maritime transport (i.e. ‘bunkers’) has grown by 38 % since 1990, primarily used in the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain.
Besides the overall trend, there are considerable variations between countries, although road transport in nearly all cases dominates energy consumption. Differences are likely due to geographical and topographical constraints such as settlement and transport patterns, as well as economic development.
Additional policies that reduce the demand for transport, encourage modal shift towards more environmentally-friendly modes, improve transport management and enhance vehicles’ energy efficiency are required in order to meet targets set by the Kyoto protocol and the 2020 climate and energy package. Policies that focus only on the efficiency of vehicles will not be sufficient to overcome the dependency on road transport, as they may reduce the cost of transport movements, hence causing increased demand, via the so-called rebound effect (European Commission, 2009).
[1] Excluding Liechtenstein and Iceland – no data available.
This indicator considers total energy consumption in transport in PJ from 1990 onwards. The transport modes included are bunkers (sea transport), air transport (domestic and international), inland navigation, rail transport and road transport.
In this indicator, transport energy consumption is measured in terajoules (1 TJ = 1012 joules).
Reductions in fuel consumption in the transport sector, and/or reductions of related impacts, may be achieved via three primary means:
Although climate policy and the Kyoto Protocol are important drivers of reducing fossil fuel consumption (and air quality policy to a lesser extent), this indicator is primarily concerned with energy policy. Other related issues are addressed in TERM002 (Greenhouse gas emissions from transport in Europe), TERM003 (Emissions of air pollutants from transport) and TERM031 (Use of renewable fuels in transport in Europe).
The EU has set itself the following targets:
If the 2030 policy framework, proposed in January 2014, is accepted, these targets will be built upon. Additional targets — which aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 % by 2030 and increase the proportion of energy that is renewable by at least 27 %, also by 2030 — will be set. Improvements in energy efficiency are still encouraged (as part of the '20-20-20' target to increase energy efficiency by 20 % by 2020), but no new target has been proposed (EC, 2014).
Two key documents published by the European Commission in 2011 outline possible strategies for the transport sector, which are compatible with the 2050 target. These are the Roadmap for moving to a competitive low-carbon economy in 2050 (EC, 2011) and the third decennial Transport White Paper, Roadmap to a single European transport area — Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system (EC, 2011).
The impact assessment that accompanied the 2011 Transport White Paper (EC, 2011) suggests that a 70 % reduction in oil consumption in transport from 2008 levels should be achieved by 2050.
Energy statistics for transport are collected from Member States and collated by Eurostat. To assess whether total energy consumption in transport is growing, time series data for energy consumed were obtained from Eurostat. Data for various fuels were downloaded for bunker (sea), air (domestic and international), inland navigation, road and rail transport. Data for bunkers cover the quantities of fuel delivered to sea-going vessels of all countries. Data for inland and coastal waters are not included in bunker (sea) data. Data for air transport cover quantities of fuel consumed in national and international air traffic. Data on the energy consumed by electric and diesel trains are included within rail data.
Since Eurostat data are used to process statistics, the Eurostat methodology should be referred to for data collection and specification (see Eurostat, ITF and UNECE, 2009).
No methodology for gap filling is applied for this indicator.
No methodology references available.
Data trends within individual countries are difficult to ascertain, as energy consumption data often show unexpected variability from year to year. Energy consumption is calculated based on fuel sales and a common questionnaire is used to report it.
National data vary significantly from country to country and depending on the fuel type and production/consumption sector. The most reliable data come from the EU-15 countries. However, oil pipeline data are lacking for the majority of countries, making them less reliable. Occasionally, data used in older time series may change because of revisions in the methodology used. Such changes have resulted in small alterations, of a few per cent.
For the EU-13, data are generally much less reliable. Gaps are frequent, as are conspicuous jumps in consumption (e.g. doubling or more).
No uncertainty has been specified.
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/transport-final-energy-consumption-by-mode/assessment-2 or scan the QR code.
PDF generated on 19 Apr 2024, 04:48 AM
Engineered by: EEA Web Team
Software updated on 26 September 2023 08:13 from version 23.8.18
Software version: EEA Plone KGS 23.9.14
Document Actions
Share with others