Transport
Greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector are expected to double by 2050 if not enough action is taken. Quick and effective measures to curb emissions in the sector are possible and can save money for governments, companies and individuals, along with providing health benefits by reducing pollution. Photo © Pline/CC
Transport Industry Drive for Improved Energy Efficiency and Electro-Mobility to Stem High Growth of Emissions
Paris, 3 December 2015 – Recognizing that transportation has the highest growth of CO2 emissions of any industrial sector, transport representatives present 10 initiatives at COP21 in Paris today that will reduce emissions and build more sustainable transport systems.
With energy-related CO2 emissions set to jump from one quarter of total energy-related emissions today to one-third by 2050, many are looking at significant changes they can make in transport to help join the global effort to keep the global average temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius.
The effort comes as demand for public and freight transport is projected to grow rapidly, especially in emerging and developing world.
Yet, projections reveal a 50% reduction of transport CO2 emissions compared to a “transport-as-usual” scenario can be achieved by 2050, without hampering sustainable economic growth.
Major initiatives, include:
65 countries committed to improve vehicles efficiency, a high impact opportunity!
In 2015, 40 countries joined the Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI) launched by the FIA foundation, ITF, IEA and UNEP, which brings to 65 the number of countries committed to develop policies and regulations on vehicle energy efficiency. This represents a strong acceleration towards the UN Climate Summit goal of 100 countries by 2016. GFEI aims at doubling the fuel efficiency of the global light duty fleet of vehicles by 2050, which will result in a cumulative reduction of over 30 gigatons of CO2 by 2050.
Companies, Cities, National Governments, and Associations converge to commit to electro-mobility and call for others to join
The Paris Declaration on Electro-Mobility and Climate Change & Call to Action launched today endorsed by Tesla Motors, Michelin Nissan-Renault, UNEP, the IEA and multiple key initiatives, builds on commitments from companies, cities, States and associations, including hundreds of partners that have undertaken decisive efforts towards sustainable transport electrification; and it calls for new supporters to join the Declaration and broaden this effort. According to the International Energy Agency, if global warming is to be limited to 2 degrees or less, at least 20% of all road vehicles (cars, 2 and 3-wheelers, trucks, buses and others) must be electric-powered by 2030, in conjunction with the low-carbon production of electricity and hydrogen.
Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans in 100 fast-growing cities and 20 countries
Launched today, MobiliseYourCity aims at supporting 100 cities and 20 developing and emerging countries by 2020 to develop and implement Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans and National Urban Transport Policies. Each city engaged in the initiative is committed to achieve a 50-75% reduction in urban transport-related emissions by 2050 compared to business as usual scenarios. A pilot phase to be launched in 2016 will support 20 cities in 13 countries (Africa, South Asia, South America and Middle East). Donor partners have already pledged 5.5 million euros to support this game-changing initiative.
50 partners embark on transforming freight, the fastest growing contributor to transport emissions. The Global Green Freight Action Plan, under the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), is a multi-stakeholder, multi-modal, global partnership that aims to provide a global framework to dramatically reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, black carbon and other pollutants in the freight sector by 2025. 13 new countries have committed to establish a green freight program or initiative, doubling the response since the New York Climate Summit in 2014.
New efforts in the initiatives announced at the New York Climate Summit on aviation, public transport and rail
To stabilize emissions from the aviation industry by 2020, 74 action plans to advance implementation of mitigation measures by States have been received by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), accounting for 80.6% of global CO2 emissions from international aviation. Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) members – representing over 1,860 airports, 258 international airlines, and other entities – are implementing programs and committing billions of dollars in resources on new aircraft, operational efficiency in the air and on the ground and alternative energy sources. The international public transport organization (UITP) has brought together 125 new commitments towards its goal to double the public transport market share by 2025. As part of the International Union of Railways (UIC) initiative, increasing numbers of railway CEOs commit their companies to develop plans to reduce final energy consumption and CO2 emissions from train operations.
To find out more about all the initiatives presented at the Focus on Transport event, please refer to the LPAA Press Kit online: http://newsroom.unfccc.int/media/509508/lpaa-primer.pdf
ABOUT LPAA
The Lima-Paris Action Agenda is a joint undertaking of the Peruvian and French COP presidencies, the Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the UNFCCC Secretariat. It aims to strengthen climate action throughout 2015, in Paris in December and well beyond through: mobilizing robust global action towards low carbon and resilient societies; providing enhanced support to existing initiatives, such as those launched during the NY SG Climate summit in September 2014; and mobilizing new partners and providing a platform for the visibility of their actions, commitments and results in the run up to COP21.Learn more at http://newsroom.unfccc.int/lpaa/about/
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Event Programme online http://newsroom.unfccc.int/lpaa/cop-21/
Nazca commitments platform: Over 10.000 concrete actions, from cities, companies, investors, foundations, NGOs: http://climateaction.unfccc.int/
LPAA Press Officer: Diane Gaillard | +33 6 99 62 49 79 | presse@cop21.gouv.fr
Press contacts for the Focus: melanie.ben@fr.michelin.com or patrick.oliva@fr.michelin.com or cornie.huizenga@slocatpartnership.org
Twitter UNFCCC: @UNFCCC (Eng), @CCNUCC (Fr), @CMNUCC (Esp), @UNKlima (De)
Twitter LPAA: @LPAA_Live | #LPAA
YouTube UNFCCC: https://www.youtube.com/user/climateconference
YouTube COP21: http://bit.ly/1G7HWW
Flickr (copyright free photos): https://www.flickr.com/photos/136161474@N05/albums