Ahead of the presentation by the European Commission its proposal for the revision of the Emissions Trading System (ETS), expected next Friday, the European rail and intermodal transport associations have EU ETS to remain true to its spirit of to allocate its revenues to reward sectors that have actually carried out its decarbonisation and, instead, to make those who have not done so responsible. The request is was formulated by the Association of European Rail Rolling Stock Lessors (AERRL), from the Alliance of Passenger Rail New Entrants (ALLRAIL), the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER), the European Rail Infrastructure Managers (EIM), by the European Rail Freight Association (ERFA), by the International Union of Wagon Keepers (UIP), by the International Union for Road-Rail Combined Transport (UIRR) and the Association of the European Rail Supply Industry (UNIFE).

In a joint statement, the eight associations highlighted that, "while different modes of transport, including those powered predominantly by fossil fuels, come forward to claim a share of the ETS revenues, We would like to point out that rail transport is already the mass public transport system with the highest emissions low rates in Europe and is a proven driver of reducing carbon emissions for both the transport of goods and the that of passengers. More than 80% of rail traffic in the EU is already electrified and rail transport accounts for less than 1% of the industry's greenhouse gas emissions of transport. Unlike road or air transport, the Rail already relies largely on electricity decarbonized and generates system-wide emissions savings when the transport of goods shifts from road to rail and combined transport, and when passengers switch from flights to or from private cars to trains. This makes it ready for the future from a climate point of view and much less dependent compensation mechanisms'.

"At the same time," the statement continues, "transport electrified railways, electrified transshipments and trucks are indirectly penalised by the ETS given that the electricity market that powers these activities has been fully covered by the mechanism of ETS carbon pricing. The railway does not ask to be exempt from the ETS, but asks that part of what it pays be reinvested to support the use of its capacity. This should apply to the entire railway system: on the one hand for high-speed passenger rail transport, regional and urban; on the other hand, for freight corridors, for electrification of terminals and depots, as well as for power supply for traction, for modernization of rolling stock and digital tools for the management of capacity for both segments'.

The eight associations, therefore, requested that, in order to ensure that rail transport remains competitive and attractive to customers, part of the EU ETS revenue is intended to support the efforts of the railway sector to and that, at national level, a higher share of revenues from the ETS are allocated to rail transport, Member States which should bind some of these railway investment and other instruments in order to reduce disparities between different modes of transportation.

According to AERRL, ALLRAIL, CER, EIM, ERFA, UIP, UIRR and UNIFE, moreover, the revision of the ETS should go from good practices that can be adopted on an optional basis to more with the various investment instruments based on the ETS which should prioritise rail projects that produce a measurable reduction in carbon emissions at national level. For associations, the following should be allocated to funds also to support the modal shift, which involves a immediate reduction of emissions.

The associations, noting that the revision of the EU ETS it must uphold the 'polluter pays' principle, and ensure fair competition, have reaffirmed that transport already bears the costs of the ETS through the electricity consumption and already contributes to the reduction of carbon emissions for the transport of goods and passengers, specifying that the cost of the ETS borne by transport electrified rail in the EU-27 amounts to around 571 million per year with a carbon price of €79.36/tonne CO2 and if, as expected, the carbon price were to rise to 110 euros/tonne by 2027, the annual cost could exceed 790 million euros.