You're listening.

You're listening to EU, man on the moon, motion.

You're listening to EU Watchdog Radio.

Welcome to a new episode of EU Watchdog Radio. My name is Hans Van Schare, media officer at Corporate Europe Observatory, also known as CEO.

In this new episode of E.O. Watchdog Radio, we dive into the issue of planes, trains, cars and bicycles.

In short, we'll be talking about transport and why this is such a powerful issue in the context of climate change

and healthy societies.

Since the lockdown, many planes stayed on the ground, which, from a climate perspective, is a very good thing.

Didn't the pandemic learn us that we need to change certain ways in which we live and consume.

While even governments and policymakers acknowledged that we need to change, they pay out billions

of euros to aviation companies via bailouts.

A month ago, new research released by the European Environmental Agency showed that the rail is the greenest mode of transport.

The EEA called for short-haul flights to be replaced by trains to help tackle the climate crisis.

And for example, if we know that flying is extremely harmful for the climate,

why do we still get offers to fly very cheap from Brussels to, for example, Barcelona?

Why is the same journey by train much more expensive?

And why are there still hardly any night trains?

What about the need for a railway Renaissance?

And if we know that more roads lead to more traffic jams, more air pollution and more health problems and casualties already at 400,000s a year in Europe alone,

why is the European Investment Bank still financing the construction of roads, even cutting through

ancient forests, like with the A49 in Germany.

This at a time when the EIB declared itself as Europe's climate bank.

...