The urgent need for greener mobility solutions

AFTER years of warnings, recent developments suggest that climate change is finally being taken seriously by governments and individuals. The challenge is huge and requires a massive change in mindset. Governments will need to make radical moves to delay the crisis, and one key area where effective action can be taken is public transport.

The International Transport Forum at the Katowice Climate Conference in 2018 highlighted that climate change won't be stopped without decarbonising transport. According to the post-Conference report, the sector has to act fast to provide the framework to scale up action. There is also an urgent need to increase collaboration across sectors and within government departments in order to raise collective ambitions and develop specific policy pathways for transport. The government-level commitments that emerged from the Katowice Conference were an advance on those made at earlier conferences, and the emotional appeal of climate activists and demonstrations have moved the needle of public opinion.

The urgency of the situation demands a commitment to smarter, greener mobility solutions ranging from manufacturing methods to the passenger experience. These must embrace green traction and energy performance; faster development of electric-powered road vehicles; a design, component sourcing and manufacturing process that utilises ecological best practice including energy from renewable sources; driverless, fully autonomous trains; data-driven rail mobility that will provide travellers with more connected products and services, and multimodal, mixed-mode urban transport.