Transport and mobility

• Transport accounted for about a third of all EU greenhouse gas emissions in 2023. Road transport was the largest contributor, responsible for almost 73% of transport greenhouse gas emissions.
• Average CO₂ emissions from new cars and vans registered in Europe fell by around 9% between 2024 and the provisional 2025 data. The decline was mainly driven by the growing uptake of battery electric vehicles.
• Emissions of most air pollutants from transport have fallen in recent decades. Most of the progress came from road transport, while emissions from shipping and aviation increased for some pollutants.
• Renewable energy use in transport continues to grow. The share of renewable energy used in transport increased from less than 2% in 2005 to 11.3% in 2024, according to preliminary estimates.
• The number of electric vehicles continues to increase. In 2024, more than 1.4 million battery electric vehicles were registered in the EU, accounting for 13.6% of new car registrations.
• Transport noise affects millions of Europeans. Long-term exposure to transport noise is estimated to leave more than 20 million people highly annoyed and almost 7 million highly sleep disturbed. 

The European Green Deal aims to achieve a 90% reduction in transport-related greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Reaching this milestone will involve significant changes in how we power and operate our cars, planes, and ships.

Under the umbrella of the European Green Deal, the EU has adopted and put in place a series of policy packages to achieve a more sustainable mobility system. Some of these initiatives aim at accelerating the transition to cleaner fuels, such as those used in passenger cars and vans, and heavy duty vehicles, or those used in shipping and aviation. The EU has also set concrete targets to ensure that a growing share of the energy used in the transport sector comes from renewable sources.

Other initiatives are aimed at reducing the impacts of transport on human health and the environment. These include action on noise pollution or tackling habitat fragmentation through wildlife crossings.

Overall, the EU must move toward a sustainable mobility system that rethinks how people and goods are transported. This requires a system prioritising public transport, such as rail, and active mobility, such as walking and cycling, into urban design. It also calls for rethinking the need for mobility and, where possible, reducing it, for example through work-from-home schemes.