Accelerating net-zero transformation by advancing Europe’s transport pathways and cross-sectoral synergies, with the assessment through a system dynamic modelling framework of current plans and the design of alternative pathways
PATH2ZERO aims to provide a comprehensive knowledge base for developing, evaluating and benchmarking net-zero transport pathways, including cross-sectoral assessments and fostering global collaboration. The transport sector accounts for a third of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the EU, and current planned policies (at EU and national level) alone are expected not be sufficient to meet these targets. Accordingly, there is a need to “develop a new post-2030 energy and climate policy framework to implement the 2040 GHG ambition level” as well as to achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.
The project will first develop a common analytical framework for the description of national pathways, with a focus on transport-related content, to collect comparable descriptions of implemented and planned cross-sectoral mitigation plans and transport policy pathways, as well as data for each EU Member State. An interactive dashboard will provide an overview of the current policy frameworks in the EU Member States related to the decarbonisation of the transport sector, facilitating comparative analysis.
An advanced modelling framework (STraDyM – Transport Strategies Dynamic Model) will be designed and developed to forecast transport sector activity and emissions up to 2050 at Member State level, integrating them with other sectors for in-depth GHG mitigation assessments, including equity and economic impacts. Existing national transport models (available in five countries) will complement the framework. Finally, the PET-VTT model will be used to model the national and EU level pathways and strategies, including all the energy sectors and mitigation of CO2 emissions (taking transport-related input from the StraDyM and national models).
The modelling framework will allow to assess whether the pathways currently implemented and planned in national strategies are likely to achieve the target reduction on the national level, what impact these strategies bear in terms of fairness, costs and risks. Finally, alternative pathways will be designed and simulated, highlighting all target and pathway choices and their trade-offs to evaluate and assess their impacts and effectiveness.
The Consortium is led by DLR (Germany), including TRT and 10 other partners from Finland, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Germany, UK, Norway, France, Italy.
TRT contributes to the project as it comes to:
- the design, development and application of the STraDyM transport model;
- the simulation of the current and alternative pathways;
- the setup of an interactive interface to present model results.
