The Greens/EFA group has accused the European Commission of failing to provide the ambition needed to reach our climate goals for transport in its Smart and Sustainable Mobility Strategy, which launched today.The EU Green Deal is Europe’s road map to tackling climate change and bringing about social justice - delivering carbon neutrality is key to this. It was hoped that the European Commission’s long-awaited Smart and Sustainable Mobility Strategy (SSMS) released today would spearhead a fundamental shift in transport policy. This was not quite the case. The SSMS does include a nod to the 2021 EU Year of Rail in the form of showing support for carbon-neutral alternatives to road and air travel for intercity journeys below 500km. There are positive signs on promoting multimodality and through-ticketing as well as a revision of Energy Performance of Buildings Directive to increase charging points in buildings. However, the SSMS fell short on committing to an outright EU wide ban on fossil fuel engines by 2030 as well as laying out plans for highly ambitious modal shift targets that will move freight and passenger traffic away from congested roads and heavily subsidised air travel, and into rail, active mobility, and inland waterways at the pace that is required.Ciarán Cuffe MEP said ‘The strategy in many ways hits the rights notes, recognising the problems of the transport sector and trying to shape a vision for its transformation. However, the substance of the strategy will not be enough for Europe to reach the 2030 and 2050 targets. Much of the possible progress promised could be undone by contradictions in the SSMS, most notably a failure to imagine a completely carbon-free transport sector by 2050, insufficient progress by 2030, and through support for a business as usual growth model whereby flawed technologies and policy fixes are promoted. Considering that this is a strategy looks so far into the future, it is disappointing that the Commission was not more ambitious.Mr Cuffe went on to say ‘Radical and ambitious solutions are needed to deliver the EU Green Deal and tackle climate change. The European Commission had a golden opportunity to introduce a fundamental rethink of EU transport policy; it sadly didn’t quite hit the mark. Our ambition needs to match the realities of the climate crisis. Europe has no choice but to be carbon neutral by 2050 at the very latest. The Smart and Sustainable Mobility Strategy must enable the EU to meet this challenge and ensure that all EU citizens have access to sustainable, safe, affordable and accessible mobility ’.Image: Trams and bicycles/ CC0 Tapio Haaja