{"id":363818,"date":"2022-03-29T06:10:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-29T04:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?p=363818"},"modified":"2022-03-29T06:10:00","modified_gmt":"2022-03-29T04:10:00","slug":"belgium-aims-to-become-international-railway-hub-for-sustainable-travel-in-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/belgium-aims-to-become-international-railway-hub-for-sustainable-travel-in-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Belgium aims to become international railway hub for sustainable travel in Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Read more about the countries in this project<\/span><\/a><\/div>
More about Belgium<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

About Decarbonizing Europe<\/h2><\/path><\/svg><\/div>
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What does the Recovery and Resilience Facility entail?<\/strong><\/h3><\/path><\/svg><\/div>
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The European Commission has made available an amount of 723.8 billion euros
to combat the consequences of the corona crisis and make Europe greener, cleaner, and future-proof. All member states have the opportunity to submit plans for disbursement from this Recovery and Resilience Facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Who is participating in the Recovery and Resilience Facility?<\/strong><\/h3><\/path><\/svg><\/div>
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All the member states of the European Union. All member states? No, The Netherlands has not submitted plans as yet. Although, it became public knowledge at the end of January that hard work is going on behind the scenes in the Netherlands to secure some of those European billions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What do the member states have to spend the money on?<\/strong><\/h3><\/path><\/svg><\/div>
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At least 37 percent of the funding should be used for making their countries more sustainable and 20 percent for digitalization. In addition, there are also other key points:
\u2013 Smart, sustainable and inclusive growth
\u2013 Social and territorial cohesion
\u2013 Public health, economic, social, and institutional resilience
\u2013 Policy for future generations<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What else is happening?<\/strong><\/h3><\/path><\/svg><\/div>
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Apart from that, the EC has identified several so-called flagship areas<\/a>:
\u2013 Power up<\/em> 
\u2013<\/em> Renovate<\/em> 
\u2013<\/em> Recharge and Refuel<\/em> 
\u2013<\/em> Connect<\/em> 
\u2013<\/em> Modernise <\/em>
\u2013<\/em> Scale-up<\/em> 
\u2013<\/em> Reskill and upskill<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What is Innovation Origins planning to do?<\/strong><\/h3><\/path><\/svg><\/div>
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Over the next few months, we will be focusing on the implementation of these plans. We will be outlining what each country is doing to reduce CO\u2082 emissions, and we will be reporting on innovative projects. Infographics will allow you to compare the member states\u2019 efforts with each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A crisis like the corona pandemic calls for decisive measures. The EU has freed up \u20ac723.8 billion <\/a>in an effort to use the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to pull the European economy out of the recession caused by corona. In order to qualify for a share of this large bag of money, member states must submit a plan to the European Commission. In the series Decarbonizing Europe, we put those plans under a magnifying glass.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Belgian corona recovery plan is set to receive an estimated \u20ac5.9 billion from the European Commission to help overcome the corona crisis. In total, 124 investment and reform projects are planned, including those in the fields of greening and digitalization. The plan should speed up the green transition even further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As far as CO2<\/sub> emissions are concerned, Belgium ranks seventh in Europe. Greenhouse gas emissions in Belgium amount to 10.6 tonnes CO2<\/sub> equivalent per capita, according to Eurostat<\/a>. Belgian emissions are significantly higher than the EU 27 average of 8.4 tonnes per capita. This indicator measures total national emissions of the so-called ‘Kyoto basket<\/a>‘ of greenhouse gases, which include carbon dioxide <\/em>(CO2<\/sub>), methane<\/em> (CH4<\/sub>), nitrous oxide<\/em> (N2<\/sub>O) and the so-called F-gases<\/em> (hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, nitrogen trifluoride <\/em>(NF3<\/sub>) as well as sulfur hexafluoride (SF6<\/sub>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A good deal of this pollution – in addition to that from heavy industry – is caused by traffic. Which is why Belgium is taking drastic measures. From 2026, only those company cars that do not emit greenhouse gases, such as electric cars, will still be eligible for tax deductions in Belgium. As of 2029, you will no longer be able to register a new car that runs on diesel, gasoline or that has a hybrid engine. Fossil fuel-driven cars – petrol or diesel – will no longer be welcome in the Brussels Capital Region from 2035. In the case of diesel, this even applies from 2030 onwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n