Mobility, energy, environment and disruptive innovation: Challenges, opportunities and perspective for new sustainable integrated approaches to planning

The transport sector represents approximately 30% of the final energy consumption in the European Union. Cars, trucks and light vehicles are responsible for 70% of the final energy consumed in the transport sector (source: Eurostat). The process of decarbonisation of mobility is represented by a combination of technological, behavioural and policy dynamics to be effectively fostered and combined in order to maximise their impact. The introduction provides a review of the main mobility and energy integrated planning approaches represented by Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) and Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs), as well as a brief overview of the expected impacts of disruptive innovation and their inclusion in the revised approach towards mobility planning in Europe. This picture provides the framework for the presentation of the papers selected for the 2020 EPEE special issue on sustainable mobility, and their contribution to the progress of economic research to increase the knowledge of innovation trends that strongly influence the evolution of urban mobility networks.