[Publication] Transport and tourism in outermost regions: assessing mobility poverty and the effects of new climate policies

Mobility poverty in the outermost regions

‘Mobility poverty’ has recently emerged, alongside energy poverty, as a cornerstone of the analysis of social vulnerabilities. It is connected to six core aspects: low transport availability, low accessibility to transport, low transport affordability, too much time spent travelling (i.e. time poverty), inadequate transport conditions, and high exposure to transport externalities. In the context of the nine EU outermost regions (Canary Islands, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Réunion, Mayotte, Saint-martin, Madeira and the Azores) , mobility poverty takes on even more significance as it reflects the challenges and shortcomings of a sector that is crucial for their own territorial cohesion (especially those that are archipelagos) as well as for their connections with their Member State’s mainland and the rest of the EU.

In this study, indicators depicting the various aspects of mobility poverty have been selected, with a view to quantify and benchmark mobility poverty across regions. Owing to the regions’ specific geographic constraints, the results show that mobility poverty affects all transport modes in the outermost regions, with few options for transport substitutability. At the same time, these regions struggle with different aspects of intraregional and interregional mobility poverty, even though some issues are shared by all regions (e.g. congestion in and around the main cities). In some regions (e.g. French Guiana and Mayotte), transport availability proves to be a pressing issue, while in others (e.g. Madeira and the Azores), transport conditions seem to be very unsafe. In the Canary Islands, transport options are not equally distributed across the islands of the archipelago.

The new EU climate legislation

In December 2019, the European Commission presented the European Green Deal with the goal for Europe to become a climate-neutral continent by 2050. One intermediate target is the reduction of net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 55% by 2030, an objective for which the ‘Fit for 55’ legislative package has been specifically designed. This package contains 19 regulations and directives, including 11 that are related to transport and tourism.

Considering that the outermost regions hinge largely on imported fossil fuels for their energy supply, air transport for their connection with their Member State’s mainland and tourism, maritime transport for their supply of goods and cars for their everyday mobility, the new Fit for 55 transport-related legislation has major implications for these regions. That is why some regulatory adaptations (in the form of e.g. temporary derogation and/or exemption of certain routes from or to outermost regions) are provided. Notwithstanding these adaptations, concerns remain as regards the effects that this legislation will have on their economies, the mobility of their citizens, the provision of supplies at reasonable prices and their convergence with the rest of the EU.

Measures tackling the effects of mobility poverty and the new EU climate legislation in the outermost regions

While the direct and indirect effects of mobility poverty and the new EU climate legislation on the transport and tourism sectors of the outermost regions have yet to fully materialise, this research shows that:

• Mobility poverty hampers the attractiveness and competitiveness of these regions as tourism destinations for third country visitors, a crucial issue considering that tourism accounts for a very large share of their economic output and already faces stiff competition;
• Tackling mobility poverty requires significant investments to ensure basic transport services for both people and goods across the whole territory of the outermost regions, a major challenge considering that these regions have a difficult topography and are anticipating a reduction of public revenues in the green transition process;
• The new EU climate legislation is expected to bring about additional costs for transport services providers and, consequently, an increase in travel prices borne by consumers – potentially leading to reduced demand for transport and tourism; this, in turn, will exacerbate the pressure on the regions’ public finances to cope with the requirements of the new climate legislation while delivering high-quality public services for their resident population and visitors alike.

These effects are all the more challenging that outermost regions generally lack the technological and financial capacity to comply with the new requirements stemming from the Fit for 55 legislation.

The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and, above all, Cohesion Policy contribute to tackling mobility poverty in the outermost regions and preparing their transport sector for the Fit for 55 imperatives. These instruments come in addition to a large array of national measures and region-specific schemes and strategies, such as subsidies on travel tickets, the development of right-of-way public transport networks and electric car infrastructures to alleviate mobility poverty and transition towards more environmentally friendly modes of transport. Still, EU, national or regional-level measures specifically aimed at counteracting the potential adverse effects of the new EU climate legislation on the outermost regions remain very limited in scope and number, especially as regards the air and maritime transport sectors.

Conclusions and policy recommendations

More crucially, mobility poverty risks increasing in the outermost regions, as their specific geographic conditions are aggravated by the effects of climate change. This will lead to increasing operational costs and bring about the need for cyclical investments in the various transport infrastructures, and, consequently, a more recurrent and extensive mobilisation of public resources. According to interviewed stakeholders, adding to the costs of complying with the new EU climate legislation, the outermost regions are expected to face massive investments needs – a major challenge given their lower wealth standings (relative to mainland peers) and the anticipated decreasing revenues from fossil fuels taxation. This calls for cross-cutting and coordinated interventions at EU, national and regional levels, with a strong place-based approach. Possible avenues for EU policy action include:

• Strengthening the application of Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) in EU climate policies by including more systematically (i.e. mainstreaming) ‘outermost derogations’ therein and adapting the timing and scope of the regulatory requirements until the necessary technologies are available and affordable;
• Monitoring the effects of mobility poverty and the new EU climate legislation on the transport and tourism sectors of each outermost region;
• Establishing an outermost-specific transport support programme (in a similar way as POSEI[1]) or, at least, significantly increasing the outermost specific allocation under Cohesion Policy to accelerate the development of innovative transport technologies and energy-efficient public transport options;
• Reviewing the competition and Public Service Obligations (PSOs) legislation, and adapting the rules of De Minimis Aid; and
• Reinforcing transnational cooperation with neighbouring countries to develop integrated transport solutions and promote coherent and consistent green agendas.

[1]     The programme of options specifically relating to remoteness and insularity (POSEI) supports the agriculture sector of the EU outermost regions.