Faced with the energy challenge, ten entrepreneurs ask for the development of river transport

Here is their platform. “The consequences of climate change remind us every day: it is urgent to find alternative solutions to change our methods of production, distribution, transport and consumption towards greater ecological and energy performance. As climate resilience and controlling our energy needs are the biggest challenges for our society, the use of greener transport as soon as possible is becoming a top priority, especially for the industrial sector, whose needs are immense.

The transport of goods, known above all for the inconvenience it can cause (congestion, pollution, insecurity, etc.), is, consciously or not, at the heart of French daily life. Reducing the impacts of transport is today one of the main concerns of public opinion, which increasingly expresses the need to implement solutions that combine sobriety and low impact.

Reorienting France towards such solutions is possible! The country has the most extensive railway and river network in Europe and, therefore, the best foundations for the use of mass transport (river and rail) which is more ecological and more efficient from an energy point of view. However, it is also the one that uses the road the most.

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In the current context, river transport has advantages that should position it as a leading solution:

– It is an energy-efficient mode: it requires on average four times less energy than road transport. In addition, it generates five times lower CO2 emissions and zero emissions of fine abrasion particles.

– It’s safe and helps ease congestion on other networks: a single river train can carry the equivalent of 230 trucks or four trains.

– Connects strategic economic hubs, from Paris to Le Havre or Belgium and the Netherlands (with the future Seine-North Europe project), from Strasbourg to Germany… Easily penetrates the heart of cities that have historically built themselves around rivers, rivers or canals .

– It knows how to adapt to the needs of companies and regions thanks to its modern and reliable infrastructure and a wide range of new services that make navigation smoother, reduce carbon emissions and develop new energies.

– It opens up many opportunities because watercourses are far from being saturated: they can accommodate traffic that is two to four times higher for a modest investment on the scale of our country.

– It is resilient: despite an almost unprecedented drought in France last summer, 99% of the broad gauge network has been kept in normal navigation conditions.

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The river is an opportunity. Its benefits are environmental and economic. We, leaders of large companies, believe that in the face of the climate and energy emergency it is essential that it can occupy a more important place in the economic and logistical organization of our country. We are convinced of its extraordinary potential. Wherever reasonably possible, we choose to integrate river transport into our supply chains and thus combine all modes of transport in the most efficient way. We strongly encourage all economic actors to do the same!

Choosing the river today means choosing reason, the choice of sustainable, attractive and resilient logistics. It means helping the French economy to tackle the ecological, climate and energy challenges it faces. »