Six Actions to Enable Walking, Cycling and Public Transport for People and Planet
In order to reach the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement and provide equitable access to transport and mobility for all, the urgent transformation of transport is necessary. At the United Nations Climate Change conferences, Parties and non-Party stakeholders come together around pledges on a number of fronts, from scaled up action on emissions from aviation and shipping, to the electrification of a range of vehicles, including cars, vans and medium- to heavy-duty vehicles. While these efforts are essential to bringing the world in line with the 1.5°C target, much more needs to be done to not only bring emissions from transport systems down to zero and scale up their resilience, but also to guarantee equitable access to transport and mobility systems that truly leave no one and no place behind. Walking, cycling and public transport hold the key to many of the solutions needed to achieve these goals through a just transition. Still they are under-prioritised aspects of the climate agenda, from a policy and funding perspective.
Governments at all levels, multilateral organisations, international financial institutions and national development banks must act to meaningfully scale up walking, cycling and public transport systems, particularly in the Global South.
The SLOCAT Partnership calls on these stakeholders to enable walking, cycling and public transport solutions as core elements of their climate action for transport by specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-based action in six areas:
2. Investing in infrastructure that enables walking, cycling and public transport, by, among other actions, reallocating existing funding from fossil fuel subsidies.
3. Implementing integrated land and transport design and planning, with robust safeguards for healthy, gender sensitive, pro-poor and disabilities-conscious impacts so these modes effectively become the most convenient options for most trips.
4. Involving multidisciplinary health experts in the development and implementation of walking, cycling and public transport policy.
5. Enhancing coordination among different tiers of government, as well as the technical and financial capacities of sub-national and local governments to help cities and communities realise this shift in design, planning, funding and implementation.
6. Applying an integrated and balanced mix of Avoid–Shift–Improve transport strategies to reduce emissions and increase equitable access to resilient transport systems.
Facts and Figures
Library of Partners' Activities
Curious to learn more about how the wider partnership is working to support walking, cycling and public transport? Then check out this sample of ever-growing initiatives, activities and materials from across the SLOCAT family.
EcoMobility Initiative
ICLEI
(Re)developing Metropolitan Areas to be Less Car-dependent
IDDRI
How to Design Sustainable Mobility in Emerging Economies?
IDDRI
Net-zero Deep Decarbonization Pathways in Latin America: Challenges
IDDRI
Compact Cities Electrified
ITDP
Making the Economic Case for Cycling
ITDP
Link of Active Modes to SDGs
MobiliseYourCity
Active Modes to Decarbonise Urban Transport
MobiliseYourCity
Key Messages on How to Shape Net-zero Cities Through Active Modes and Public Transport
MobiliseYourCity and GIZ
Cycling Facts: New Insights in Netherlands
Netherlands Institute for Transport Policy Analysis
Public Transport Benefits
UITP
Better Urban Mobility Playbook
UITP
Walking and Cycling in Africa
UNEP
Cycling Benefits in Lima
World Bank
We invite all SLOCAT partners to share any initiatives, activities or materials related to walking, cycling and public transport they would like featured in the library. Please contact Hayeon (hayeon.oh@slocatpartnership.org) to learn more!
Join us!
Show your support for a 1.5°C future, for sustainable development and a better world that truly leaves no one behind. Join us in spreading the word and working to support meaningful attention for walking, cycling and public transport everywhere!
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This call to action was developed together with the SLOCAT Task Force on Transport Community Engagement in the UNFCCC. It does not necessarily represent a consensus among partners on any given point. Although the information provided is the best available to the authors at the time, SLOCAT and its partners cannot be held liable for its accuracy and correctness.