The European Parliament’s Environment Committee was voting earlier this month to confirm the proposed limit of 95 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre for 2020. This equates to a car needing officially 3.9 litres of fuel per 100km (or doing 74 miles per gallon). According to Commission estimates, the 2020 targets of 95g for cars and 147g for vans will lead to fuel savings of 160 million tonnes of oil equivalent in the period 2020-30.

But the committee also voted for a set of standards for 2025 that would bring emissions down to 68-78 g/km, equivalent to just under 3l per 100km (89 mpg). In a compromise, MEPs accepted a system of ‘supercredits’ to count ultra-low carbon vehicles more than once, but capped the total resulting weakening of the regulation to 2.5g/km. MEPs also rejected a proposal from industry for further weakening which would have allowed credits to be saved (banked) and used in a future year.
In other votes, the Committee tightened procedures for testing cars and rejected proposals that would have opened new loopholes for alternatively fuelled vehicles and so-called ‘eco-innovations’ (technologies that produce emissions on the road but not in the test).

The Committee’s vote is expected to meet opposition from some member states, notably Germany. The German car industry includes a high number of luxury manufacturers, and the German government has been seeking protection for its car makers. But the MEP acting as ‘rapporteur’ for this legislation is a German from Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrat party, and he described the vote as ‘a real revolution’.

Transport & Environment has produced a video showing that the average European driver will save €647 a year on fuel bills compared with current vehicles if flexibilities in the current law are eliminated by 2020. The video 'Stop the Oil Waste from Europe’s Cars' can be seen here.

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Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said: "Building green infrastructure is often a good investment for nature, for the economy and for jobs. We should provide society with solutions that work with nature instead of against it, where that makes economic and environmental sense."
Green infrastructure is often cheaper and more durable than alternatives provided through conventional civil engineering. Biodiversity-rich parks, green spaces and fresh air corridors can for example mitigate the negative effects of summer heat waves. In addition to the health and environmental benefits, green infrastructure also brings multiple social benefits: it creates jobs and makes cities more appealing places to live and work. And it allows for wildlife to thrive, even in an urban context.

The strategy launched today will focus on:

• Promoting green infrastructure in the main policy areas such as agriculture, forestry, nature, water, marine and fisheries, regional and cohesion policy, climate change mitigation and adaptation, transport, energy, disaster prevention and land use policies. By the end of 2013, the Commission will develop guidance to show how green infrastructure can be integrated into the implementation of these policies from 2014 to 2020. 
• Improving research and data, strengthening the knowledge base and promoting innovative technologies that support green infrastructure. 
• Improving access to finance for green infrastructure projects – the Commission will set up an EU financing facility by 2014 together with the European Investment Bank to support green infrastructure projects 
• Supporting EU-level GI projects – by the end of 2015, the Commission will carry out a study to assess the opportunities for developing an EU-wide network of green infrastructure. Next Steps

By the end of 2017, the Commission will review progress on developing Green Infrastructure and publish a report on the lessons learnt together with recommendations for future action.

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The topic of this conference is Smart choices require easy access – making sustainable transport a part of everyday life. The conference organisers have put 14 topics up for contributions to be able to deliver the latest, state-of-the-art projects, project results and research results to the mobility management community. Gävle will share local initiatives and results through a special "Meet the Swedes" session.

Focus Areas of the ECOMM will be:

• Sharing: Shared Space, Bike Sharing, Car Sharing 
• The cycling boom IT, 
• Gamification, use of social media 
• Research: methods, policy drivers, economic benefits 
• Urban planning: Land use, city logistisc 
• Connection with other areas: health, e-mobility, road works 
• MM in the Baltic countries

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How to travel

“The UK has an obesity epidemic and it is costing the tax payer over £5 billion every year. Previous attempts to address this have failed and the problem is on such a scale now that it is clear that large scale solutions are needed. And that's where British Cycling come into the debate as we offer a solution."

“Whilst the problem is attributed to changes in lifestyles and the environment we live in, it essentially down to what we eat and how much we exercise. British Cycling has already shown that it can inspire people to make healthier and more rewarding choices. In partnership with BskyB and over 45 Local Authorities, we’ve worked together to inspire over one million people to get on a bike and attract more people into cycling and raising activity levels. Our fun, family-orientated, mass participation events, local led rides for all abilities and levels of fitness, and local support from our Ride Leaders, have given us the right tools to support public health gains across the UK.”;

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Registration to ECOMM 2011 is open until the 2nd of May 2011. You can register via http://www.ecomm2011.eu/en/informations

Here you find information about the registration fees.