The outbreak of war in Ukraine and the post-pandemic energy demand boom in 2022 have driven up fuel prices and the use of fossil fuels. With global CO2 emissions at record levels at a time when, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, there is a need instead for “immediate and decisive reductions,” as evidenced by increasingly frequent and intense extreme events. Combating global warming, one of the key points of the Paris Agreement-a universal and binding understanding for the 195 signatory countries-is thus confirmed as a top priority.
And the complete decarbonization of transportation, an essential step toward that goal. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), most mobility-related emissions, 74.5 percent, come from vehicles traveling on the road, such as cars, trucks, motorcycles, buses and so on. The maritime sector contributes 3 percent of global CO2 emissions each year, certifies the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).
Finally, the aviation sector is responsible for about 2.5 percent of global emissions and 3.8 percent of emissions in the EU, estimates the European Environment Agency, which says that without a decisive change of course, carbon emissions from commercial flights could triple by 2050.
Looking to the future, by 2070 global transportation is expected to quadruple and the rate of car ownership will increase by 60 percent (IEA), while, according to a study by Energy Technology Perspective, there will be three times the demand for passenger and cargo aircraft. Projections that confirm how much the transport and mobility sector needs to be involved in order to meet the European goals of the Fit for 55 package – minus 55 percent of climate-changing emissions by 2030 and zero emissions by 2050 – and to meet the sustainability challenge.
Biofuel energy serving the transition
In this context, the contribution to the ecological transition of second-generation biofuels, which Italy has decided to focus on, is crucial today in long-distance heavy-duty transport, where electrification cannot be realized in the immediate future, and could also prove to be the winning bet for the medium-term future of urban fleets, in Europe but not only.
Cop28 approved the Global Stocktake.
Historic agreement reached on energy transition, for the first time fossil fuels enter the text of the cop. In fact, the document was partly rewritten
