Latest news with #TransportandEnvironment
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Europe's lithium quest hampered by China and lack of cash
Europe's ambition to be a world player in decarbonised transportation arguably depends on sourcing lithium abroad, especially in South America. Even the bloc's broader energy security and climate goals could depend on securing a steady supply of the key mineral, used in batteries and other clean energy supply chains. But Europe has run into a trio of obstacles: lack of money, double-edged regulations and competition from China, analysts told AFP. China has a major head start. It currently produces more than three-quarters of batteries sold worldwide, refines 70 percent of raw lithium and is the world's third-largest extractor behind Australia and Chile, according to 2024 data from the United States Geological Survey. To gain a foothold, Europe has developed a regulatory framework that emphasises environmental preservation, quality job creation and cooperation with local communities. It has also signed bilateral agreements with about 15 countries, including Chile and Argentina, the world's fifth-largest lithium producer. But too often it fails to deliver when it comes to investment, say experts. "I see a lot of memoranda of understanding, but there is a lack of action," Julia Poliscanova, director of electric vehicles at the Transport and Environment (T&E) think tank, told AFP. "More than once, on the day that we signed another MoU, the Chinese were buying an entire mine in the same country." The investment gap is huge: China spent $6 billion on lithium projects abroad from 2020 to 2023, while Europe barely coughed up a billion dollars over the same period, according to data compiled by T&E. - Lagging investment - At the same time, the bottleneck in supply has tightened: last year saw a 30 percent increase in global demand for lithium, according to a recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). "To secure the supply of raw materials, China is actively investing in mines abroad through state-owned companies with political support from the government," the IEA noted. China's Belt and Road Initiative funnelled $21.4 billion into mining beyond its shores in 2024, according to the report. Europe, meanwhile, is "lagging behind in investment levels in these areas", said Sebastian Galarza, founder of the Centre for Sustainable Mobility in Santiago, Chile. "The lack of a clear path for developing Europe's battery and mining industries means that gap will be filled by other actors." In Africa, for example, Chinese demand has propelled Zimbabwe to become the fourth-largest lithium producer in the world. "The Chinese let their money do the talking," said Theo Acheampong, an analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations. By 2035, all new cars and vans sold in the European Union must produce zero carbon emissions, and EU leaders and industry would like as much as possible of that market share to be sourced locally. Last year, just over 20 percent of new vehicles sold in the bloc were electric. "Currently, only four percent of Chile's lithium goes to Europe," noted Stefan Debruyne, director of external affairs at Chilean private mining company SQM. "The EU has every opportunity to increase its share of the battery industry." - Shifting supply chains - But Europe's plans to build dozens of battery factories have been hampered by fluctuating consumer demand and competition from Japan (Panasonic), South Korea (LG Energy Solution, Samsung) and, above all, China (CATL, BYD). The key to locking down long-term lithium supply is closer ties in the so-called "lithium triangle" formed by Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, which account for nearly half of the world's reserves, analysts say. To encourage cooperation with these countries, European actors have proposed development pathways that would help establish electric battery production in Latin America. Draft EU regulations would allow Latin America to "reconcile local development with the export of these raw materials, and not fall into a purely extractive cycle", said Juan Vazquez, deputy head for Latin America and the Caribbean at the OECD Development Centre. But it is still unclear whether helping exporting countries develop complete supply chains makes economic sense, or will ultimately tilt in Europe's favour. "What interest do you have as a company in setting up in Chile to produce cathodes, batteries or more sophisticated materials if you don't have a local or regional market to supply?" said Galarza. "Why not just take the lithium, refine it and do everything in China and send the battery back to us?" Pointing to the automotive tradition in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, Galarza suggested an answer. "We must push quickly towards the electrification of transport in the region so we can share in the benefits of the energy transition," he argued. But the road ahead looks long. Electric vehicles were only two percent of new car sales in Mexico and Chile last year, six percent in Brazil and seven percent in Colombia, according to the IEA. The small nation of Costa Rica stood out as the only nation in the region where EVs hit double digits, at 15 percent of new car sales. avl/mh/np/jxb/sco
RTÉ News
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- RTÉ News
Campaign groups concerned over rising heights of car bonnets
European campaign groups say the rising heights of car bonnets are a danger to vulnerable road users, particularly children. Transport and Environment and the Clean Cities Campaign groups say the front ends of new cars sold in Europe are getting higher by an average of 0.5cm a year. They say this increases the severity of crashes while making it harder for drivers to see what is in front of them. The groups analysed new vehicle registrations in the EU, UK and Norway and says average bonnet height has risen from 76.9cm in 2010 to 83.8cm in 2024. Their report says: "In crashes, high-bonneted SUVs and pick-up trucks typically strike adult pedestrians above the centre of gravity, often first hitting vital organs in the body's core." It also warns that higher bonnets increase blind spots: "Drivers behind high bonnets can fail to see children in front of them, for example, when leaving a driveway or parking space. At junctions, compromised vision increases crashes, particularly when turning." The report singles out vehicles with a bonnet height above 1 metre as particularly hazardous. It says a driver of average European height, sitting behind the wheel of a RAM TRX pick-up truck cannot see children aged up to nine standing just in front of their vehicle. The truck is marketed in Ireland as an "APEX predator" which comes with "a menacing grille". The report also says that average height drivers in a Land Rover Defender cannot see children aged up to four-and-half years old standing immediately in front of their SUV. It cites a report from the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) which found the Defender's 115cm high bonnet "revealed poor protection to a pedestrian's pelvis at nearly all points across [its] width". Lower fronted cars would strike adults in the legs, causing less severe injuries and the impact tends to push them over the bonnet while a higher front increases the risk of pedestrians or cyclists being pushed under the car and run over. While those models with bonnets higher than 100cm represent just 1.5 percent of the new car market in Europe, 46 percent of the new cars sold in Europe last year had bonnets higher than 85cm. Transport and Environment and the Clean Cities Campaign are calling for the EU to cap bonnet height on new cars at 85cm from 2035. Their report says a road safety report from Belgium, by the VIAS Institute, found a 10cm increase in bonnet height, from 80cm ot 90cm, raises the risk of death for vulnerable road users by 27 percent. It also warns that high fronted SUV's present a higher risk, of between 20 and 50 percent, of serious injury to the occupants of regular cars. The best-selling car in Ireland in recent years has been the Hyundai Tuscon SUV. RTÉ News measured the height of the Tuscon's bonnet at just under 85cm. The groups also call for the bonnet height of vehicles to be added to Vehicle Registration Certificates (VRC) of new cars sold in Europe for 2030, so consumers can make an informed choice and for a new child visibility test to be included in Euro NCAP ratings. They recommend a reform of motor taxes and parking charges to link them to the size and weight of vehicles.
Telegraph
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Germany's failing bridges could wreck Europe's ability to wage war
They are supposed to be the gold standard for efficient, high-quality engineering, but Germany's bridges are in such poor condition that allied tanks may not be able to drive over them if war breaks out with Russia. As tensions soar with Moscow, a colonel in the German reserve armed forces has raised concerns over the 'dilapidated' bridge network in his country, where as many as one in three need urgent repairs. Reserve Colonel Patrick Sensburg, the head of the Bundeswehr's reservist association, said that it would be 'impossible' to rapidly deploy tanks in Germany in a crisis if soldiers do not know which bridges are strong enough to carry them. 'The condition of many bridges in Germany is actually worrying. Around one in three is dilapidated,' he told The Telegraph. 'My main concern is that, if the weight load capacity of the bridges is unclear, tanks or other large military equipment will not have adequate exit routes in an emergency, making the rapid deployment of forces impossible.' Germany would play a crucial transit role in the event of war with Russia, with huge numbers of soldiers, tanks and other equipment passing through the country towards the eastern front. But the poor state of the German bridge network has raised concerns that soldiers and supplies would face difficult navigating through the country. A recent survey by Transport and Environment, a European lobby group, found that 16,000 bridges in Germany are dilapidated and many are not even designed to bear heavy loads, such as tanks, which weigh about 60 tons. About 5,900 of these bridges would need to be completely replaced, while the other 10,000 could be fixed with reinforcement or replacement works, the study found. German infrastructure has suffered from decades of under-investment, which has led to crumbling road, bridge and railway networks in a country historically famous for its engineering skills. Res Col Sensburg said that the new German government should fix the bridges as a top priority, relying on a new €500 billion (£420 billion) infrastructure fund announced last month by Friedrich Merz, the incoming chancellor. He said that one interim solution would be returning yellow tank signs to bridges in Germany, stating how much weight a bridge can carry. The signs were mostly removed in Germany after the Cold War because they were no longer considered necessary. 'The new federal government should invest significantly in security-relevant infrastructure and then reinstall the familiar tank signs of the past in front of bridges. They are not an interference and provide information about the load a bridge can bear,' he said. 'This also makes sense, for example, for aid after natural disasters. In Poland, the tank signs were reinstalled last year as part of the Nato exercise Steadfast Defender 2024. We should follow this example.' The dire state of Germany's bridge network was highlighted last summer by the collapse of Carola Bridge, one of the main crossing points over the Elbe in Dresden. According to Tagesspiegel, a German newspaper, the so-called Ringbahn bridge in the west of Berlin is also a cause of major concern, having been closed in March because of a crack in its supporting structure. The bridge, constructed in 1963, is due to be demolished but it remains unclear when a replacement will be completed. In September, ZDF, a German broadcaster, reported that a bridge forming part of the Meckenheim motorway junction, in west Germany, was one of the most dilapidated in the country. A Bundeswehr spokesman said that the nation's bridges were 'generally sound'. Asked whether they would collapse under the weight of tanks, she referred the question to the transport ministry. The spokesman added: 'Any potential aggressor should realise that an attack on our alliance's territory has no chance of success because we are willing and able to defend ourselves.' A German transport ministry spokesman said that modernisation work on bridges was a 'top priority', but referred the question about collapse risks to the German defence ministry, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The transport spokesman said of the renovation works: 'Due to the urgency of the situation, priority will be given to the large bridges, where modernisation is of course more complex and time-consuming than for smaller bridges.'
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nations divided ahead of decisive week for shipping emissions
Members of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) are divided over whether to approve a carbon tax on international shipping, ahead of a meeting starting on Monday to finalise emissions-reduction measures. The carbon tax, the most ambitious measure on the table, would make it more expensive for shipping companies to emit greenhouse gases, encouraging them to curtail emissions. But some member states, including China and Brazil, are proposing other measures, arguing the carbon levy would increase the cost of goods and contribute to food insecurity. The IMO expects to come to an initial agreement by Friday next week on which mechanism to adopt to help reach carbon neutrality in shipping by 2050. The stakes are high as shipping accounts for nearly three percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the IMO. "(It is) difficult to say what will happen next week," Fanny Pointet, sustainable shipping manager at European advocacy group, Transport and Environment, told AFP. The United States has been notably quiet about the issue, having not commented since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. The Pacific and Caribbean island states are leading the group pushing for a carbon tax, with support from other countries including the UK. They argue that funds raised from a levy could be redistributed to nations most vulnerable to climate change to help adapt and mitigate its effects. "Climate change is a terrifying lived reality for my country," said Albon Ishoda, the Marshall Islands' representative to the IMO. - 'Terrifying lived reality' - However, around 15 countries strongly oppose the carbon levy, arguing it would exacerbate inequalities between nations and raise the costs of goods such as palm oil, cereals and corn. Concerns are also mounting that the European Union, once a supporter of a carbon tax, could water down the measure in favour of a carbon credit system. Such a system would allow companies or countries to buy and sell credits representing the right to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide. According to University College London research, the option of no levy presents the biggest risk to meeting the shipping sector's climate goals. It could also distort fuel prices and create an uneven playing field, favouring states with strong industrial polices, such as China, researchers said. "The fastest and cheapest energy transition is brought about by a strong levy," combined with a global fuel standard to reduce the carbon intensity of fuels used by ships, they added. Challenges also remain with the fuel standard system, particularly the risk of using alternative fuels such as palm oil and soybean oil, which indirectly contribute to emissions through deforestation, Pointet explained. While Brazil defends the key role of these biofuels, more than 60 environmental protection NGOs have raised objections to their inclusion in the future shipping fuel mix. Other potential solutions include synthetic hydrogen-based fuels, currently very expensive to produce, or the installation of wind-powered propulsion systems onboard ship. pml/ajb/jkb/gil
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Yahoo
The UK train routes so expensive it is cheaper to fly via Europe
It's the sort of thing that shouldn't happen in a functional transport system: a Cornish couple saved £250 on their cross-country journey by choosing to fly via Malaga rather than take the train. Kristina Coulson says that she and her husband were quoted more than £200 each to travel via train from Newquay to Crewe, where they needed to pick up a car. Instead she says that the duo were able to fly from Newquay to Malaga, before flying back into Manchester the next day. They say that the whole trip cost them £153, including one night in a hotel. It isn't the first time that someone has been able to avoid sky-high rail fares by taking circuitous flights instead. So why does this keep happening? Over the years, campaign groups like Transport and Environment have claimed that Britain's rail fares are the steepest in Europe. But some experts – like travel blogger Mark Smith, who founded the blog The Man in Seat 61 – say this isn't quite accurate. Instead, he says that UK rail operators tend to be much more ruthless in their dynamic pricing models, utilising a similar approach to low-cost airlines. In short, that means that passengers who book on the day will pay a hefty premium. In those circumstances, UK fares are generally higher than European equivalents. But those passengers who book weeks or months in advance will probably get a better deal than their peers on the continent. Of course, that's not much consolation when you need to take a short-notice train journey. But is it really cheaper to fly? Here's what our investigation unveiled. It's one of the most popular long-distance rail routes in Britain, but it certainly isn't cheap for last-minute trips. When I checked at 4pm on Monday afternoon, a seat on the 5pm train out of Kings Cross to Edinburgh was priced at £199.60, with later trains costing £150 or £130. Was it cheaper to go with budget airlines? A quick search on Ryanair's website revealed that both London and Edinburgh had regular flights to and from Budapest, meaning I could connect via the Hungarian capital. Indeed Ryanair offered me a same-day flight at 7pm from Stansted to Budapest for £97.59, with a return flight to Edinburgh the next day available for £87.99 – so a total of £185.58. It was a small saving (£14) that would inevitably be swallowed up by the costs of getting to the airport, let alone staying in Budapest. But would the picture be different if I had a bit more notice? When I decided to check train prices for Friday evening, the same journey (5pm from Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverley) was priced at £96.80. Alternatively, Ryanair was offering a flight to Budapest for that evening for just £19.99, followed by a mid-morning flight to Edinburgh for £41. On the face of it, it was a much better saving this time around. But I still needed to factor in the cost of one night's accommodation. Not to mention that getting to Stansted on Friday afternoon required a lot more flexibility. If I could escape the office that early, then why not just get an earlier train to Edinburgh? Indeed, leaving Kings Cross at midday reduced the train ticket to £78.90, slashing Ryanair's price advantage. But was it the same story for longer train journeys? For another example, I looked at travelling between Bristol and Edinburgh – a whopping six-hour journey – on January 29. Looking on Trainline in the afternoon of January 27, the peak ticket at 9am cost £106.30, though I could travel for a fraction of that (£46) if I was prepared to wait just 35 minutes… By contrast, Ryanair had a flight from Bristol to Tenerife for just £16.99, followed by a second flight to Edinburgh for £29.43. A decent saving on the peak prices, then. Given the flights were morning and evening respectively, I could also do the detour without having to factor in hotels. The gap would give me just enough time to explore Tenerife. Yes, it would still involve some extra costs – tapas and ice cream, perhaps – but wouldn't that be more pleasant than spending the best part of seven hours on a CrossCountry train? A search on Trainline revealed that this particular journey would cost between £65 and £93.70, depending on which service you wanted to travel on. Looking on Ryanair's website, I was surprised to find that I would be better off taking the early-morning flight to the Polish city of Gdansk, before catching a return leg to Leeds Bradford Airport. Together, both flights would cost just £59.24. Even better, the return leg was just £14.25 – one of the cheapest single tickets I've seen on Ryanair in ages. Fancy a city break in Liverpool? When I checked Trainline, I was offered a peak ticket from London to Liverpool tomorrow evening for £171.30. Alternatively, Ryanair had flights for Marrakech from Stansted for £99.99 on the same day. I could then book a return to Liverpool the next morning for just £30.48. A £41 saving wasn't to be sniffed at, but would it really persuade the average traveller to reroute their journey via Morocco? I wasn't convinced. Thanks to low-cost airlines like Ryanair, it isn't hard to find instances where taking an international detour can be cheaper than relying on the railways. But the kind of big savings (£100 upwards) that Kristina Coulson enjoyed only work if the alternative is taking the busiest peak train services without any kind of pre-planning. Looking at tomorrow's peak trains from Newport to Crewe, there's only one service with tickets over £200 (the 7.12am departure), with most of them priced at around £140. If you can wait until Friday, you can do the trip for £93.60. Generally, the people who end up paying the larger ticket prices are those with less flexibility in the first place. Which means they're less likely to have the time to take a quick detour via the Canary Islands or North Africa. Still, it's nice to know the option is there – if you're feeling spontaneous enough to make the most of it. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
