In view of the 24th Conference of Parties (COP24) currently taking place until December 14 in Katowice (Poland), the ECF takes a look at the key proceedings that target sustainable transport and clean mobility policies.

Great attention by media outlets and policy makers has been placed upon the 24th Conference of Parties (COP24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), being held at this very moment in Katowice (Poland) until December 14, 2018. The focus of this annual gathering of world leaders and different stakeholders is to decide upon the implementation of what is commonly referred to as “The Paris Agreement”, the highly cited climate deal adopted by the UNFCCC signatories in December 2015 during the COP21 Conference held in Paris. For reference, The Paris Agreement aims to sharpen the global response to the threat of climate change through concrete efforts to accelerate and intensify climate actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future.

More precisely, the objective of the climate deal is to keep the global temperature rise in the 21st century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The potentially disastrous consequences of a rise in global temperatures has been further emphasized by a special report on climate change published this past October by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), stressing the need for what amounts to a revolutionary transformation of global economies and energy consumption that would have “no documented historic precedent.”

The EU Transport Sector

The EU transport sector alone stands as the single biggest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting economic sector, exceeding 1990 emission levels by around 20% and accounting for about 25% of all GHG emissions.[1] In the context of the COP24 Conference and with the worrisome climate forecasts looming over the proceedings, which of the many events, summits, and workshops focus on mitigating the effects of climate change through developments in transport sustainability, clean mobility and the climate actions in transport policy necessary to achieve the lofty goals of The Paris Agreement?

SLoCaT at COP24

In this regard, the Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT) is at the organizing helm of various events at COP24 and off-site that will discuss transport and climate change to work towards more ambitious transport climate actions. To note, the SLoCaT Partnership promotes the integration of sustainable transport in global policies on sustainable development and climate change and leveraging action in support of the implementation of the global policies. SLoCaT consists of a multi-stakeholder partnership of over 90 organizations (UN organizations, Multilateral and Bilateral development organizations, NGOs and Foundations, Academia and the Business Sector), of which the ECF is proud to count itself as a member.

Of particular note amongst the events SLoCaT will be hosting is the Transport Day 2018 Conference on “Urban Mobility Solutions to tackle climate change” (jointly organized with the CIVITAS Initiative) to take place this Thursday, December 6. Transport Day 2018 will have the objective of highlighting the strong role of cities in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality by implementing measures in the transport sector. Importantly, the event will address how national governments can support the potential of cities through framing activities for successful sustainable urban mobility action such as national legislation, common planning tools, empowering cities, and funding to cities.

Transport and Climate Change Global Status Report (TCC-GSR)

Furthermore, SLoCaT is leading the production of its first inaugural Transport and Climate Change Global Status Report (TCC-GSR), with the aim of “bringing together information streams on transport and climate change and to offer both policy-makers and practitioners three key elements:

• Compilation of policy measures/targets and market trends
• Central data repository on transport and climate change
• Illustration of climate and development co-benefits.”[2]

This inaugural edition of the TCC-GSR is intended as a resource for policy-makers to raise ambitions for climate mitigation and adaptation in sustainable transport policies and actions by countries, cities, states and provinces, and private sector companies. Over 100 individuals from 40 transport - or transport-related organizations were involved in the development of the report, including the Secretary General of the ECF, Dr. Bernhard Ensink, who contributed to Part III of the TCC-GSR on assessing the current policy landscape in the sustainable transport sector, chiefly on the status and growth of the cycling sector.

The TCC-GSR will be officially released during its Launch Event at COP24's Action Hub Amphitheater on Saturday, December 8, at 9:00 am (CET), after which it will be made publicly available on the SLoCaT TCC-GSR webpage.

[1] “EU Cycling Strategy. Recommendations for Delivering Green Growth and an Effective Mobility in 2030.” Ed. European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) ASBL, June 2017, http://www.cyclingstrategy.eu

[2] Partnership on Sustainable Low Carbon Transport. (n.d.). Retrieved on 04/12/18 from http://slocat.net/tcc-gsr