1.Posted October 19, 2012
Global CO2 emissions from the transport sector are projected to increase nearly 50% by 2030 – with profound environmental, economic and social consequences – unless dramatic changes are adopted.
In many Asian nations, losses from traffic-related congestion already amount to 5% of GDP. Many large Asian cities also suffer from the highest air pollution levels in the world, contributing to the premature death of half a million people each year.
Inadequate transport continues to exacerbate poverty and inequality in many regions of the world, inhibiting access to schools, healthcare, markets, and job opportunities.
Yet despite the importance of the transport sector, which also directly contributes 5-10% of GDP in most countries, it has been largely neglected in the global sustainable development agenda.
Hence, check out this infographic by the Asian Development Bank on why investing in public transit is so important in the age of climate change.
The SOLUTIONS NetworkAs the SOLUTIONS project enters its final months, it is laying the groundwork for a transition into a network – to keep alive the valuable collaborations on sustainable urban mobility it has created and help deliver on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and the New Urban Agenda.
The new SOLUTIONS Network will broaden the original project’s partnerships by inviting additional organisations that are working on implementing sustainable urban mobility actions across the world.
It will look to link their activities to boost their impact, and also create new partnerships to develop targeted concepts and pilot projects for sustainable urban mobility solutions.
To join or to find out more about this exciting new initiative, please contact the SOLUTIONS project coordinator, Oliver Lah: oliver.lah(at)wupperinst.org
About the SOLUTIONS projectSOLUTIONS aims to support the exchange on innovative and green urban mobility solutions between cities from Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Mediterranean. The project brings together a wealth of experience and technical knowledge from international organisations, consultants, cities, and experts involved in transport issues and solutions.
The project’s overall objective is to make a substantial contribution to the uptake of innovative and green urban mobility solutions across the world by facilitating dialogue and exchange, promoting successful policy, providing guidance and tailored advice to city officials, and fostering future cooperation on research, development and innovation. The activities are organised around six themes:
- public transport
- transport infrastructure
- city logistics
- integrated planning / sustainable urban mobility plans
- network and mobility management
- clean vehicles
SOLUTIONS in briefTransport is a key enabler of economic activity and social connectivity. While providing essential services to society, transport is also an important part of the economy and it is at the core of a number of major sustainability challenges, such as climate change, air quality, safety, energy, security and efficiency in the use of resources (EC 2011: Transport White Paper).
The overall mission of SOLUTIONS is to support the up-take of innovative sustainable urban mobility solutions in Europe and other regions in the world, in particular in Asia, Latin America and the Mediterranean. SOLUTIONS aims to bridge the “implementation gap” between the potential of innovative sustainable mobility and transport solutions and packages of solutions and the actual level of up-take and quality of the deployment mechanisms. SOLUTIONS will focus on testing the transferability of innovative sustainable mobility solutions around six thematic clusters, summarised on the right. SOLUTIONS as coordinating action will build strongly on previous and on-going projects and initiatives.
Key factsSOLUTIONS stands for Sharing Opportunities for Low carbon Urban transporTatION. This coordination and support action project is financed under the FP7 programme theme SST.2013.3-2 (Implementing innovative and green urban transport solutions in Europe and beyond).
ObjectivesSOLUTIONS' overall objective is to make a substantial contribution to the uptake of innovative sustainable mobility solutions in cities across the world by:
- Facilitating dialogue and creating networking opportunities, and sharing experience
- Promoting successful urban policy solutions from around the world
- Providing guidance and tailored advice to city officials through several regional analys
- Fostering future cooperation on research, development and implementation
- Assess the transferability of sustainable urban mobility solutions from Europe, Asia and Latin America
- Assess the potential for uptake in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Mediterranean and develop recommendations for future research
- Foster the implementation of sustainable urban mobility solutions in China, India, Brasil and Mexico
- Stocktake report on sustainable urban mobility solutions from Europe, Asia, Latin America
- Feasibility studies for four cities in China, India, Mexico and Brasil
- Guidelines on the uptake of innovative sustainable urban mobility solutions and technologies in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Mediterranean
- Recommendations for the European Commission on future research opportunities
Projects outputs will include:
- Stocktake report on sustainable urban mobility solutions from Europe, Asia, Latin America:
- Focusing primarily on policy and the regional policy environment,
- Feasibility studies for four cities in China, India, Mexico and Brasil,
- Guidelines on the uptake of innovative sustainable urban mobility solutions and technologies in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Mediterranean,
- Recommendations for the European Commission on future research opportunities.
Infographic by Asian Development Bank
Submitted by SustainbleCities