UN CLIMATE PRESS RELEASE / 11 NOV, 2017
New Transport Decarbonisation Alliance for Faster Climate Action
Bonn, Nov 11 – The global transport sector on Saturday announced a new Transport Decarbonisation Alliance (TDA) to push for further, faster climate action and to stimulate greater political leadership in the sector.
As part of COP23 Transport Day, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Costa Rica and the Paris Process on Mobility and Climate (PPMC) will launch the alliance at 5 pm today in the French Pavilion, in the Bonn Zone at the UN Climate Change Conference.
“More ambitious and co-ordinated action on transport is required to deliver on the Paris Agreement,” said José Gomes Mendes, Vice Minister for Transport, Portugal.
Members of the TDA will also strive to bring about a much greater co-ordination between national, local and corporate action.
Transport contributes about one quarter of all energy related CO2 emissions and about 15-17% of the entire spread of human CO2 emissions. Under a business-as-usual scenario, transport related CO2 emissions could grow from 6-7 gigatonnes to 16-18 gigatonnes by 2050.
Against such a backdrop, the Paris Climate Change Agreement goals, which require the world to achieve a net-zero emission economy soon after 2050, are challenging and require bold actions towards a systemic transformation of the transport sector. Clean, efficient transport, both public and private, is also an inextricable component in delivering several of the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals.
Six new voluntary sector initiatives are also being introduced in Bonn to address specific aspects of transport and climate change:
below50 - Growing the global market for the world’s most sustainable fuels.
EcoMobility Alliance - Ambitious cities committed to sustainable transport.
EV100 - Accelerating the transition to electro-mobility.
Walk 21 - Valuing and delivering more walkable communities.
Global Strategy for Cleaner Fuels and Vehicles
Transforming Urban Mobility Initiative - Accelerating implementation of sustainable urban transport development and mitigation of climate change.
List of contact points for the 6 new transport initiatives
An overview of all 21 Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action Transport Initiatives can be foundhere.
The Transport Thematic Day has eight sessions covering all modes of transport and all types of actors and there just over 50 transport related events taking place during the conference. Most transport events are listed here.
The sessions demonstrate how state and non-state actors can work more effectively together and a new report by PPMC has been launched which details the activities and progress made under the Marrakesh Partnership.
But while much progress has been made, transport sector delegates said that national climate plans – known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) – submitted under the Paris Agreement so far do not pay enough attention to transport to help the sector deliver its full potential into the Agreement.
For example, they said NDCs need to cover passenger and freight transport in a comprehensive and integrated way considering both mitigation and adaptation by setting specific targets and setting out the policy measures to be used.
Transport will also be one of the focus areas of the new Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptationbeing launched by the Netherlands, Japan and the UN Environment on November 14 at COP23.
Thematic Day Coordinators
The Transport Thematic Day has been co-ordinated on behalf of the transport community by the:
International Union of Railways (UIC)
UIC, the Worldwide railway organisation represents the entire global railway operating community. Sustainability is indeed embedded in the core functions of UIC. UIC mission’s statement is ‘to develop rail transport to meet the needs of sustainable mobility’.
Nick Craven, philippe@uic.org; Marie-Luz Phillipe, craven@uic.org
Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT)
The SLoCaT Partnership on Sustainable Transport is a multi-stakeholder partnership of over 90 organizations (representing UN organizations, Multilateral and Bilateral development organizations, NGOs and Foundations, Academe and the Business Sector). The Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT) promotes the integration of sustainable transport in global policies on sustainable development and climate change.
Mark Major, Senior Advisor, mark.major@slocatpartnership.org, +34 638 798 344
International Transport Forum (ITF)
The International Transport Forum at the OECD is an intergovernmental organisation with 59 member countries. It acts as a think tank for transport policy and organises the Annual Summit of transport ministers. ITF is the only global body that covers all transport modes. The ITF is administratively integrated with the OECD, yet politically autonomous.
Wei-shiuen Ng, wei-shiuen.ng@itf-oecd.org
International Union of Public Transport
International Union of Public Transport (Union Internationale des Transports Publics) is the only worldwide network to bring together all public transport stakeholders and all sustainable transport modes. UITP promotes the idea that public transport should play a major role in any urban mobility policy. By highlighting its benefits beyond the mobility sphere, UITP also promotes public transport within the wider policy framework.
Philip Turner, philip.turner@uitp.org
List of contact points for the 6 new transport initiatives:
below50 – Rasmus Valanko, valanko@wbcsd.org; Tanya Stevens, strevens@wbcsd.org
EcoMobility Alliance – Beatrice Chng, Beatrice.chng@iclei.org; Itzel Obregon, itzel.obregon@iclei.org
EV100 – Sandra Rolling, srolling@theclimategroup.org
Walk 21 – Bronwen Thornton, bronwen.thornton@walk21.com; Jim Walker, jim.walker@walk.21
Global Strategy for Cleaner Fuels and Vehicles –Helena.MolinValdes, Helena.MolinValdes@unep.org
Transforming Urban Mobility Initiative – Armin Wagner, armin.wagner@giz.de
Paris Process on Mobility and Climate (PPMC) – Key messages on Transport and Climate Change – November 2017
Decarbonization of all modes of transport by 2050 is possible - but action is needed now
Without rapid and ambitious mitigation action, transport emissions could more than double by 2050
Cost effective solutions for passenger and freight transport are available and have been tested at scale
Concerted national and urban policy together with business action is required to avoid unnecessary trips, shift to efficient modes, and improve vehicles and fuels
Reductions in domestic and international aviation and maritime emissions are feasible and affordable
Action on low carbon transport supports eight of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Safe, clean, efficient and affordable mobility for all must be part of all low carbon transport action
Improved urban access and air quality are key co-benefits of low carbon transport solutions and can improve quality of life for six billion urban dwellers in 2050
Providing better access to economic, social and cultural opportunities delivers social and economic progress as well as decarbonisation
Investments in sustainable low carbon transport offer great value for money
Investments in low carbon transport infrastructure and services can bring substantial, long-term, economy-wide benefits and improve social equity
Adapting transport infrastructure and services is necessary to improve resilience and to safeguard long-term returns on investment
Smart, stable national and local public policy frameworks can stimulate private investment and complement public spending on transport
Innovative solutions have the potential to transforming current transport systems into efficient, low carbon people orientated solutions
New mobility solutions must be electrified, shared and integrated with walking, cycling and public transport
New transport fuels must be sustainable and have low lifecycle carbon footprints
Information and communication technologies can facilitate and improve sustainable multimodal journeys
Sustainable transport will be essential for countries to deliver on their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
Countries can set more specific and ambitious targets for the transport sector that make full use of mitigation potential
Countries, cities and companies should define clear roadmaps for net decarbonization of the transport sector soon after 2050
Countries must implement polices required for long-term transformation, including coordinated planning, balanced pricing, and technology deployment
The global transport community stands ready to support countries, cities and companies action on climate change and development
The transport community is supporting governments to develop and implement their NDCs and long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies.
The transport community is providing policy advice and expertise to the UNFCCC process to make the Facilitative Dialogue 2018 a transformative process
The transport community is co-operating with other sectors (such as energy, health, education and finance) to catalyse effective and enduring climate action