The Institute of Energy for South-East Europe organized on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 a one-day conference on “Energy & Transport” at the amphitheatre of the Transport Ministry in Athens. The conference enjoyed the auspices of the Ministry and had the support of the local public transport companies like OASA, ETHEL, AMEL, HSAP, HLPAP, TRAM, PROASTIAKOS SA and ATTIKO METRO SA.
The conference was focused on the relation between energy and transport, a relation which impacts directly the energy balance of a country.
“The rational use of the existing transport system with emphasis on the energy saving and rational use of energy with longer-term aim the reduction of the consumed energy per capita-which can be achieved only through the adoption of a proper tariff regime in the liquid fuel sector, like higher taxation,- is the only realistic approach if we wish to reduce the negative impact of the transport on the environment and improve the energy performance of the sector,” said in his speech IENE’s chairman Mr Costis Stambolis.
In Greece, transport has a 40% share of the total energy consumed, thus playing a key role in the wider energy landscape. The issue was addressed by the general secretary of the Transport Ministry Mr Simos Simopoulos who presented the Ministry’s action plan aiming at energy savings and a rational use of energy.
IENE’s Energy and Transport subcommittee chairman Mr Petros Kassapis presented some significant data which showed that the transport sector in Greece uses primarily petrol by 99.6%. He also pointed out that the vehicle transport absorb 76.7% of the total energy consumption of the whole sector. However, the public transport sector has only a 35% share of the total transport incurred in the Attica region. The Transport Ministry stresses that the percentage exceeds 40%.
Mr Kassapis suggested a set of direct and indirect measures like
the deployment of hybrid cars, the use of biofuels and natural gas are some measures which could offer an immediate relief to the sector, while the improvement of the national roads and the construction of new motorways can bring longer-term results.
Another issue which came under the spotlight in the conference was the neglected role of the railways in the transport scene of the country and the need for their revival, given their high cargo capacity. The Ministry’s target is the railway system to gradually reach a 10% share of the total transport system in the next 10 years.
Representatives of ETHEL, OASA, ATTIKO METRO SA and TRAM made special references to new fuel technologies(e.g hydrogen) and their implementation in the urban transport, and the improvement of the transport system management.