A new report by the European Commission, an executive branch of the European Union, proposes to completely eliminate gasoline and diesel-fueled cars and trucks in favor of clean-running vehicles by 2050, in a bid to decrease traffic congestion and drastically reduce the continent’s carbon footprint.

The commission also would like to enact a ban on the shortest air flights, requiring passengers to travel by other means of transportation, such as trains, for distances under 186 miles. Meanwhile, infrastructure will be updated to cater to more sustainable forms of transportation across the continent.

EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas describes the plan as being composed of, “very radical, very ambitious targets.” Changing the way a continent moves doesn’t come cheap: “We are talking about the necessity of an investment of 1.5 trillion euros ($2.2 trillion),” as Kallas was quoted in The Independent, in the UK. “Curbing mobility is not an option; neither is business as usual. We can break the transport system’s dependence on oil without sacrificing its efficiency and compromising mobility. It can be a win-win.”

Source: Treehugger.com