Author: Heba Mousa – Reviewed by: Tu My Tran
Cover Photo: Tim Adam

The latest IPCC report has set the stage for the upcoming decades of action on transport and climate change. The conclusion is clear: “Meeting climate mitigation goals would require transformative changes in the transport sector.” This year, in the 28th UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP28), the transport sector is leaping to net zero. We shed the light on some of the priorities:

Multi-level action: the COP28 presidency launched the CHAMP initiative with Bloomberg Philanthropies. ‘CHAMP is an effort intended to drive greater engagement between national and subnational governments—including cities, towns, states and regions—in the planning, financing and implementation of climate strategies while also looking forward to the development and implementation of the next round of countries’ NDCs for COP30 in 2025.’ ICLEI, as part of the NDC Partnership, is a crucial partner and endorser of the initiative.

The Multilevel Action and Urbanization Pavilion, convened by ICLEI and UN-Habitat and co-hosted by the Scottish Government and GCoM along with several partners, will be the center stage of cities’ and regions’ actions and initiatives at COP28. On 6 December, it will open the door for an engagement on safe and multimodal mobility transition.

Cross-sectoral cooperation: The transport sector is responsible for 20.7% of energy-related GHG emissions, and the share of renewable energy is 4.1%. Therefore, actions towards fossil-free and sustainable transport and energy are integral. The SLOCAT initiative and REN21 joined forces to achieve multisectoral progress. They launched an Open letter calling for doubling the share of energy-efficient and fossil-free forms of land transport by 2030.

Commitment to #FossilFreeTransport: The call to action urges to double the amount of fossil-free energy in passenger and freight transport by 2030 while working on scaling up zero-emission energy sources towards fossil-free transport by 2050.

Technology transfer and finance: Led by the Road to Zero initiative, the freight transport sector sets up a list of active engagements in COP28. The Urban Living Lab Center is hosting a session about mobility solutions, focusing on advancing Electrification and highlighting the work of the SolutionsPlus project in this field.

Public-private climate action: Most transport emissions are pre-determined by commercial needs for international travel and shipping. Private transport operators and innovators should be committed to the local and national governments’ emission targets. Therefore, the private sector plays a crucial role in voicing possibilities for emission reduction. In that regard, RATP and the French Pavilion are hosting a session on ‘How to Accelerate Mobility Decarbonisation: solutions, financing, cooperation.’

Systemic approach: the transition to sustainable mobility faces some roadblocks, including regulatory, technical and social barriers. One of the significant challenges to accelerating the mobility transition is road safety. A session is hosted at the WHO Pavilion and led by the International Transport Forum from a safe system perspective. Another engagement led by SLOCAT targets a just and systemic transition to the transport and energy sector.

For more urban mobility and transport events during COP28, visit the SLOCAT COP28 tracker. To see all the events where ICLEI is actively engaged in all climate-related topics, visit ICLEI at COP28.

ICLEI – Sustainable Mobility team will be present on week one of COP28; contact Tu My Tran or Heba Mousa if you wish to set up a meeting via this form.