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Indicator Assessment
For the first time since 1990, annual transport energy consumption in the EEA member countries fell, by 0.8%. This reflects the downturn in demand for transport caused by the early stages of the economic recession. Specifically, in 2008 annual declines in road, inland shipping and bunkering (sea) energy consumption outweighed increases in rail and aviation transport consumption. However, the fall does not change the long term picture which shows an increase of 36% between 1990 and 2008. Road transport, responsible for 71 % of transport energy consumption, remains the largest consumer.
Transport final energy consumption by mode
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).
Eurostat, Supply, transformation, consumption - all products, http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/energy/data/database
Eurostat, Supply, transformation, consumption - solid fuels, http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/energy/data/database
Eurostat, Supply, transformation, consumption - oil, http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/energy/data/database
Eurostat, Supply, transformation, consumption – gas, http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/energy/data/database
Eurostat, Supply, transformation, consumption – Electricity, http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/energy/data/database
Eurostat, Supply, transformation, consumption – renewable(biofuels), http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/energy/data/database
[data accessed 1 September 2010]
Between 1990 and 2008, energy consumption from transport grew by over a third. Whilst there have been improvements in energy efficiency - for example, the average energy efficiency of passenger cars improved by 1.7% between 2006 and 2007 (Transport and Environment, 2008) - such advancements have failed to offset growth in demand. The continued growth of road and air transport, which are comparatively energy intensive, has also contributed to the overall increase. However, in 2008 overall energy consumption from transport decreased for the first time in the period shown. This is largely due to a reduction in demand for transport, probably caused by the global economic recession. This decrease in energy consumption is unlikely to be sustained: the latest projections for the EU-27 predict that economic recovery will prompt a return to growth in transport energy consumption before 2015, with growth continuing until at least 2020 (albeit at a reduced rate, as policies designed to reduce transport energy use begin to take effect). Transport demand is expected to grow faster than energy consumption, in other words the energy intensity of transport will decrease (European Commission, 2010).
The EEA 32 countries[1] consumed approximately 458 Mtoe providing energy for transport in 2008. The vast majority, 83%, is consumed by the original 15 Member States, with 10% consumed by the new 12 Member States and the remainder by other EEA countries.
The 12 new EU Member States have collectively increased consumption by 64% since 1990; however this figure covers a more complicated picture. Many of the new member states saw a decline in the early nineties, reflecting the economic difficulties experienced in the transition to market economies and the general economic depression at that time. Iceland, Lithuania and Estonia actually ended up consuming less energy in 2008 than in 1990, meanwhile the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia recovered to more than double their energy consumption over the same period. Further, almost solely through increases in shipping activity (bunker fuels), Malta has nearly quadrupled its transport energy consumption.
Until falling 1.3% in 2008, transport energy consumption of the 15 old EU Member States had grown steadily since 1990. This demonstrates the severity of the recession impacts, with 11 of the EU 15 experiencing a decline in transport energy demand in 2008. However, from a longer term perspective, average consumption for the EU-15 as a whole is now 32% higher than it was in 1990. Ireland and Luxembourg grew most dramatically, increasing in excess of 150% over the period. Spain and Portugal have increased consumption by nearly 90%, while Belgium and Austria are not too far behind.
Road transport energy consumption has increased in both the old and the new EU Member States, by 32% and 63% respectively. 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 transport by sea may also be a result of their geographical location, with fewer major ports currently in the EU 12 than in the EU15.
Air transport shows the strongest growth in energy consumption of all modes over the last 18 years (87% in EEA member countries), linked to the strong increase in demand. However, the rate of increase fell notably between 2004 and 2006, and again between 2007 and 2008, suggesting the first year on year fall in energy consumption since 2001 could be imminent.
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. EEA wide, rail and inland navigation were the only two modes to increase their rates of change of energy consumption in 2008, in the midst of recession. This was caused by increases in the rates of change in both rail and inland navigation in the EU-15, outweighing decreasing rates of change in the EU-12.
The energy consumption from inland water transport for the whole of the EU remained more or less constant during the 1990s followed by a decline mainly due to the reduced importance of bulk industries, which dominated demand for inland shipping. However, recent years have seen a return to use of inland waterways, particularly in the EU-15, bringing 2008 energy consumption back up to just 7% below the 1990 level in the EEA member countries.
Road, air and sea travel (bunkering) all had declining rates of change in the most recent years as a result of the recession. Because these modes are the most prominent, overall transport energy consumption levelled off in the three years building up to the recession.
Across the EEA member countries energy consumption in maritime transport (i.e. ‘bunkers’) has grown by 51% 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. 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 Lichtenstein – 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 or scan the QR code.
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