EU transport ministers to discuss role of transport in combating climate change

European Union transport ministers will meet in Brussels on 20 September 2019. Minister of Transport and Communications Sanna Marin will chair the meeting. This is the first Transport Council meeting during Finland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The Transport Council is set to discuss the role of transport in the EU's long-term climate strategy. The ministers will deliberate on how emissions could be reduced in road transport, maritime transport and air transport.

"As we hold the Presidency of the Council of the EU, we want to strengthen the EU's role as a global leader in climate action. We want to make every effort to make the EU carbon neutral by 2050," Minister Marin says.

"Transport plays a key role in mitigating climate change. The need for emission reductions in transport will affect transport policy in many ways in the coming years," Marin says.

"At the initiative of Finland, the Transport Council will, for the first time, comprehensively discuss emission reduction measures for different modes of transport," Marin adds.

Finland wants to move the process forward so that the member states could reach a common understanding on the EU long-term climate strategy by the end of 2019. The debate in the Transport Council is intended to contribute to this objective.

Finland holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union between 1 July and 31 December 2019.

Background

- The Paris Agreement is a global climate agreement adopted in December 2015. It aims at measures to limit global warming to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius.

- The EU's long-term plan for achieving this target will be submitted to the UN by 2020.

- The European Commission communication "A Clean Planet for all" was published in November 2018.

- In June 2019, the European Council urged the Council of the EU and the European Commission to take more effective climate action to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

Inquiries

Päivi Antikainen, Director of Climate and Environment Unit, tel. +358 50 382 7101, Twitter @PaiviAntikainen

Maaria Mäntyniemi, Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 50 444 0922