A €20 billion investment in public charging points will be required by 2030 if the EU is to hit vehicle emissions targets. That is the finding of a new report by green campaign and research group Transport & Environment.

The report estimates that 3 million public charging points will be needed for 44 million electric vehicles in 2030 across the EU. Only by making such an investment can the European Union become climate neutral by 2050. Current estimates say that there are now only 185,000 public charger points in the EU meaning at least 15 times more are required.

Lucien Mathieu, e-mobility analyst of Transport & Environment, said, “The Green Deal for transport can only happen with zero-emission infrastructure. This means putting money into setting up the network of public chargers, especially at home and at work, and not in building more fossil gas pipelines. So far the number of charging points has kept pace with demand, but the coming electric surge needs to be supercharged by vastly expanding the charging network.”

Lucien added, “The shift to EVs will create a multi-billion euro market opportunity for European industry in the grid works, and manufacturing, installation and maintenance of public charging. The EU must do everything it can to fight the climate emergency while supporting jobs in Europe.”

T&E says transport is Europe’s biggest climate problem, representing 27% of the bloc’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Cars emit 44% of transport CO2 emissions and their impact is still growing. The group says that to realise the ambition of the EU Green Deal, Europe will need 40% of new cars to be zero-emissions in 2030, and will need to sell the last combustion engine car by 2035.