Sustainable development in transport is about quality of life - Birulés
A better, more sustainable approach towards transport will lead to a higher quality of life for European citizens, according to Spanish Minister for science and technology, Anna Birulés. Speaking at the European conference on maritime and terrestrial technologies for sustainable development held in Valencia on 4 June, Ms Birulés pointed out that sustainable development and quality of life are similar concepts. And the key to making sure that transport becomes more sustainable and efficient is the need for new technologies. Policies related to transport on a national and a European level need to reflect this, said Ms Birulés. In particular, countries need to address their own characteristics in developing the transport system. In the example of Spain, she referred to its maritime possibilities, the potential use of more solar power and its investment in high speed trains. Policies designed to make companies the best in the world are one of the ways of ensuring that transport becomes more sustainable. And ensuring that these companies are connected to researchers is another important element, as well as bringing SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) into play. The European actions which will benefit sustainable development include the dedication of one of the eight priorities of the next EU Framework programme to the area of sustainable development, as well as 'aerospace and space'. Transport research also benefits from a 21 per cent increase in budget in the next Framework programme, compared to a 17 per cent increase for the programme as a whole. The commitments made on a European scale have been significant too. The Barcelona summit saw Europe's leaders commit to creating a plan of action to address obstacles to development of environmentally friendly technologies, to increase energy efficiency by 2010 and to push forward legislative changes on transportation tax and tariffs. Sustainable development is not just about the environment, said Ms Birulés, it can also be about economics. To prove this, she highlighted a recent opinion poll in Spain which showed that 47 per cent of respondents felt that the attitude of a vendor towards sustainable development was important.
Countries
Spain