photo: Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic/"Revenue from Emission Allowances Should Be Returned to the Transport Sector. On the Railways, It Should Be Directed Mainly to New Rolling Stock," Says Jan Sechter, Chairman of the Transport Section of the Czech Chamber of Commerce
RAILTARGET presents you with an exclusive interview with the Chairman of the Transport Section of the Czech Chamber of Commerce, Jan Sechter. The topic of the interview is emission allowances, which is a very relevant issue for the entire transport sector. What will be the consequences of emission allowances for the railway sector?
Do you consider emission allowances a good instrument of climate policy and the Green Deal?
Emission allowances and emissions trading should become a tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Those who reduced emissions could sell the saved emission allowances to those who would find such a reduction more costly. States could trade among themselves. Every company in the energy, steel and iron, cement and lime, pulp and paper, glass and ceramics, chemical, refinery, and air transport industries is grappling with the question of whether it is more profitable to invest in cleaner technologies or rather than to buy emission allowances at a given price. I consider the trading of emission allowances on the capital markets to be highly questionable, as the allowance price is subject to influences outside the corporate, sectoral, and investor relations, and there is a lack of predictability and, therefore, investment certainty for the replacement of low-emission equipment. Unfortunately, the EU does not make use of ETS cap pricing, although it could.
Read more
Siemens and the charitable association Siemens Caring Hands e.V. are supporting the Stiftung Bergwacht, a non-profit foundation for mountain rescue…
Emission allowances to reduce emissions produced within the EU are becoming one of the hottest topics as they are about to be extended to transport policy. What does this mean for the transport sector and, specifically, for rail freight and passenger transport?
Transport is already burdened by emission allowances, especially the most environmentally friendly transport - electric transport. It is levied on energy companies for the production of electricity. Under the Green Deal, the emissions trading scheme will be extended to transport fuels and also to housing from 2027, despite opposition from several states. Road transport and some rail transport will therefore be additionally burdened by payments to be made by the fuel retailer. It is, therefore, already necessary for each haulier to estimate the future burden according to the composition of its transport performance and to start reflecting allowance prices in its modernization and investment plans.
The price of allowances is rising steadily, and so is the revenue to the state budget. In your opinion, where should the collected funds be invested in the best-case scenario, and where are they actually put?
In the Czech Republic, the share of total CO2 emissions is roughly divided into 1/3 for transport, industry, and households. According to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, 88% of the proceeds from the auctioning of emission allowances accrue to individual countries. Article 10(3)(f) specifies the use of these proceeds "to encourage a modal shift to low-carbon modes of transport and public transport." In our context, however, the revenue is not directed to transport at all. According to Section 7 of Act No 383/2012 Coll., the proceeds from the auctioning of emission allowances are state budget revenue, and only part of the proceeds are shared between the Ministry of Industry and Trade (CZK 4 billion) and the Ministry of the Environment (CZK 4 billion). If transport is burdened with emission allowances from 2027 onwards, the proceeds should be returned to transport and its modernization, in the case of railways, especially rolling stock.
Read more
The Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, has recently visited the MERMEC FERROSUD plant. This Martera-based factory, taken…
How important do you think the Social Climate Fund will be?
The fund was created by the European Commission under pressure from Member States, which in the Green Deal negotiations strongly opposed the idea that clean mobility and housing would generate negative social consequences, such as energy poverty and socially unaffordable mobility. There is great concern that the price of allowances and their unpredictability should not make transport more expensive. Passenger and freight rail transport negotiate long-term contracts with contracting authorities and customers, which require predictability. In our context, the Social Climate Fund should, therefore, primarily serve passenger rail and public transport. Of course, someone will think of ordering people to walk or spending money on cycle paths because they think people will cycle to work. Only North Korea has such "clean" mobility today.
Read more
Dr. Sigrid Nikutta, Chairwoman of the Management Board of DB Cargo AG, has dismissed recent media speculations concerning significant job cuts and the…