The European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) is proud to announce it has become a founding member of the Partnership for Active Travel and Health (PATH). PATH is a new global alliance calling on governments and individual cities around the world to make a stronger commitment to promoting active travel, walking and cycling as the key remedy to address today's challenges by encouraging and accelerating the achievement of the climate targets of reducing carbon emissions and promoting more sustainable and healthier mobility for citizens.

Coordinated by a core group made up of the FIA Foundation, Walk21, ECF and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), together with other members, PATH aims to promote, invite and, above all, enable more people to walk and cycle safely as the key to achieving the Paris Agreement on climate change.

To showcase its ambitions, PATH has published a new report entitled Make way for walking and cycling, based on research and studies highlighting the benefits of active travel to people's health and the environment.

ECF CEO Jill Warren commented on the report, stating "60% of urban trips across the globe are shorter than five kilometres, with more than half of them currently travelled by motorised vehicle. Walking and cycling could replace a significant portion of these short trips. E-bikes further extend this potential." 

Members of PATH - pathforwalkingcycling.com

The report touches on several points and interweaves data on the positive impact of active mobility on the health of individuals and the environment, as well as on the potential improvement of life in urban centres through the reduction of noise, air pollution and, of course, traffic congestion. It concludes:

• Road vehicles account for nearly three quarters of transport CO₂ emissions and these numbers are increasing; 50 billion tonnes of CO₂ will be emitted by urban transport in the next 30 years at current rates.
• Urban trips are expected to more than double between 2020 and 2050. 60% of them are shorter than 5 km, a quarter are less than 1 km, yet walking and cycling currently make up just a third of these trips, and more than half of them currently travelled by motorised vehicles.
• If electric cycling is factored in (extending distance covered to 10 km), the potential for active travel exceeds 75% of all urban trips in the world.
• Walking or cycling 30 minutes a day is enough to meet WHO minimum health requirements and reduces the risk of premature death by 20-30%.
• Enabling more people to walk and cycle safely is a cost-effective and essential to achieving the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and will improve the lives of people all over the world. 
• Giving priority and investing in walking and cycling, through Nationally Determined Contributions and integrated and coherent strategies, requires actions for infrastructure, campaigns, land use planning, integration with public transport and capacity building. 

“The FIA Foundation is proud to support the creation and work of PATH, which aims to catalyse further investments and concrete actions to enable and improve walking and cycling and deliver on global commitments made within the Paris Agreement,” said Sheila Watson, Deputy Director of the FIA Foundation. “This includes the launch of this exciting new report, which will serve as a valuable resource for advocates, policy and decision makers to inform these commitments.”

As the report points out, the transport sector is the one with the highest growth in emissions. In this regard, Jim Walker, founder of Walk21, stated: “Enabling a bigger share of urban trips to be walked and cycled is a quick, affordable and reliable way to significantly reduce transport emissions, traffic congestion and road casualties, and will also deliver improved public health, stronger economies and fairer societies”.

Ahead of the COP27 climate conference to be held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt in November 2022, PATH is also publishing a joint open letter asking governments and cities to commit to prioritising and investing more in infrastructures, campaigns, land use planning, integration with public transport for walking and cycling.

Follow PATH on Twitter: @PATHwalkcycle
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