Motorways will have to contribute financially to the ecological transition, assures the Minister of Transport Clément Beaune

Motorway companies will have to “contribute financially to the transition” ecological. This is what ensures the Minister of Transport Clément Beaune in an interview published Friday, February 10 in The world. In France, the transport sector is the main emitter of greenhouse gases, responsible for climate change, notes the High Council for Climate. “We will discuss it in the coming months, without any taboos, including on the tax level”, he said, without further details. It also calls on companies in the short term to “use their margins to invest more in the ecological transition (electrical terminals in all areas, carpool parking lots, etc.)”.

Concerning the model of concessions which expire from 2030, Clément Beaune announces that will be launched “in the spring, public work with parliamentarians, economists, non-governmental organizations, the motorway companies themselves, on the future of concessions”. “Should the road still finance the road in the future, or should tolls finance rail transport in particular? We need to build another model”, according to him. The Transport Regulatory Authority proposed in January to the State to favor shorter contracts between motorway companies and the State, to give the latter greater room for maneuver, while the main concessions – including Vinci, Eiffage and Sanef – will expire between 2031 and 2036.