Open letter: PATH coalition calls for national governments to include walking and cycling in their climate commitment

By

Anna-Karina Reibold

11 Oct, 2024

Today, the Partnership for Active Travel and Health (PATH), of which ECF is a founding member, publishes an open letter urging national governments to prioritise walking and cycling in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as a crucial part of their climate strategies. Walking and cycling are the most affordable, accessible, and effective solutions for reducing transport emissions. Yet, PATH research shows that integrating active travel policies into NDCs could reduce transport emissions by as much as 50% .With NDCs 3.0, the next round of submissions due in 2025, we are at a critical point in the fight against climate change. We're calling on all non-profits to join us in signing this letter to amplify our collective voice for active mobility.

The open letter to national governments

The Partnership for Active Travel and Health (PATH) calls on national governments to commit to walking and cycling in the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to reach climate goals and improve people’s health and lives.

Enabling more people to walk and cycle safely and to access public transport by foot and by bicycle can help cut transport emissions in half by 2030 and is a fast-track way to achieve progress on urgent climate goals and the Paris Agreement. Yet PATH’s groundbreaking research shows that walking and cycling are significantly undervalued in countries’ NDCs. Despite two-thirds of nations having active travel policies in place, there remains a pressing need for increased ambition, action, and investment in their climate commitments to fully unlock the benefits of walking and cycling.

PATH has launched a new set of knowledge tools and guidance to support national policymakers to compare and benchmark existing policies, build capacity, and adopt walking and cycling as part of their country’s climate commitments.

The PATH’s Active Travel NDC Template offers a step-by-step guide with 20 actions to create effective policies, including interventions to create safe and accessible places to walk and cycle, public campaigns to shift mobility habits and embed walking and cycling into policy processes.
The PATH Dashboard visualises data from PATH’s 2023 report National Policies for Walking and Cycling in all 197 UNFCCC countries. It offers an overview of the progress made by countries in integrating walking and cycling strategies into their policy frameworks and NDCs. It also facilitates direct comparisons between countries and pinpoints areas requiring additional investment and ambition.
The PATH Walking and Cycling Regional Fact Sheets feature a comprehensive set of infographics analysing NDCs and walking and cycling policies across the six WHO- defined regions, detailing their objectives, actions, investments, and evaluations.

We urge countries to take full advantage of these tools to build walking and cycling into their climate commitments through the next round of NDCs submissions between November 2024 to February 2025, ahead of COP30 in Brazil.

PATH and its over 400 supporters stand ready to support national governments in this process.