The International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated every year on 8 March to commemorate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, and to raise awareness about the challenges they still face in achieving gender equality.
The transport sector, still male-dominated, is proof to this reality. However, our campaign at Changing Transport IWD aims to boosting exceptional women and their participation in the sector, as well as their contributions to building sustainable and inclusive transport systems.
As part of the campaign, Changing Transport has published two inspiring with women who are leading change in the transport sector.
Women are not talking about ideas, they bring in the heart, the mind and the gut to change the transport system
Dr. Sheilah Gaabucayan-Napalang
The campaign was not only about one perspective. In our #StoryofChange article our colleagues in Latin America shared the story of why urban mobility and gender are so important in the region. This article highlighted the challenges faced by women in accessing public transport and the need for gender-sensitive policies in the sector, but also demonstrate opportunities to overcome these challenges together.
The Women Mobilize Women team also hosted the award ceremony of Feminist Voices in Transport 2023, where women from different parts of the world shared their perspectives and ideas on how to change transport from different feminist perspectives. This event aimed to recognise the achievements of women in the transport sector and to provide a platform for their voices to be heard. Remarkable women also participated in the study tour in Berlin.
Overall, Changing Transport’s “International Women’s Day” social media campaign was a great success in boosting women’s knowledge and passion in the transport sector and highlighting their contributions to building sustainable and inclusive transport systems. By showcasing the achievements of women in the field, the campaign aimed to inspire more women to enter the sector and to provide them with the support they need to succeed. It is clear that there is still much work to be done to achieve gender equality in the transport sector, but campaigns like this one provide a glimmer of hope that change is possible.
Published on 22 March 2023
As women in transport, we have to bring each other up and encourage other women to take their space in this field. Sometimes when there is no clear path to what you want to do in transport, you have to carve your own.
It is vital to boost the participation of women in the transport sector to continue inspiring others worldwide to join this field and work together to create sustainable change in society. In this opportunity, Keisha Alena Mayuga shared her experience and story, creating her own path.
Keisha Alena Mayuga is an urban planner from the Philippines. She has worked as a local Urban Planning Consultant for the World Bank for technical assistance in Active Transport and the Reiner Lemoine Institute for Southeast Asian Power Sector Review project. Aside from her jobs, she is also part of different groups pushing for better transportation in the country, such as AltMobility PH and the Move As One Coalition. Not only advocate cycling, but she also gives examples to people by cycling everywhere in the hopes of getting more people to cycle, especially women.
Her journey to get opportunities in sustainable mobility was a challenge.
I realized after searching for very specific roles, that since there was no path to follow, I could create my own path.
Keisha graduated with a degree in journalism and transitioned into transportation by working as a Project Development Officer for a university-based bike-sharing project. This project led her to promote cycling in general and encouraged her to pursue a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of the Philippines so she could gain more knowledge about local processes, urban planning concepts, and technical knowledge, and explore the realm of sustainable mobility. She began her career in different sectors of development organizations and advocated cycling.
In 2020, when the government of the Philippines closed all public transport services and many essential workers were left stranded, she and other advocates put up Life Cycles PH. This initiative helped around 1,500 essential workers to access bicycles.
Her next advocacy was ensuring the safety of new cyclists through infrastructure:
Filipinos slowly started recognizing the bike as a means of transportation, generating a bike boom in the country. However, our roads were not safe.
She started pushing for the creation of bike lanes on major roads and cities and lobbying for better policies to protect cyclists and supporting cycling-related events from different sectors through the cooperation of AltMobility PH and the Move As One Coalition.
The cycling advocates started the advocacy by putting pop-up bike lanes using traffic cones along 1.3 kilometers of one of the most infamously congested roads in the Philippines to protect cyclists in May 2020. They were able to pull off the preparation of the pop-up bike lanes in less than a week while facing hesitation from the authorities.
The initiative had faced the challenge of getting shut down halfway through. However, in the end, it could raise a series of discussions and other pop-ups in cities within just a few weeks. In the next three months, the authorities agreed to let the cycling advocates to set up an even bigger pop-up bike lane spanning more than 10 kilometers for four days on the same road. This initiative got a positive response from the public.
By 2021, the Philippines was able to construct 500 kilometers of bike lanes nationwide through the joint effort of civil society, national and local governments, the private sector, and other partners.
Her success in improving cycling in the Philippines drove her to improve transport systems beyond bikes. She took MBA in Sustainable Mobility Management at the Technical University of Berlin. She hopes to apply and share her knowledge in the Philippines so that people get their time back to do more meaningful things.
As a woman, Keisha strives to advocate better transportation in the Philippines amid a male-dominated transportation field. She said that women sometimes need to speak volumes to voice their concerns and not let a room full of men intimidate and talk over women’s ideas.
Keisha’s story is an example for all women to drive changes in transport sector. Though the path to realizing sustainable transport in the Philippines is winding and steep, it could be reached step by step with strong persistence, effort and her life philosophy:
If you feel there is no route to follow, then you should create your own.
NDC Transport Initiative for Asia (NDC-TIA) is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) supports this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag. It supports China, India, and Viet Nam as well as regional and global decarbonisation strategies to increase the ambition around low-carbon transport.
Discover how Sonal Shah and Keisha Mayuga, two female executives in the transport sector, dealt with gender bias.
As more people are become aware of gender equality, companies are attempting and making new efforts to treat both genders equally. Nonetheless, gender bias still happens unintentionally in practice.
The bias is noticeable in the unequal treatment of women at work, including unequal pay and an unbalanced ratio that contributes to high turnover.
The 2010 Equality Act stated the requirement for individuals to get equal pay regardless of gender, but in practice it still takes work to reduce the gap, as happened in Indonesia where women earn 23% less than men.
On the other hand, an unbalanced ratio between men and women in the workplace can cause gender inequality. It was reported that several Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam and the Philippines, had a low female-to-male ratio. In Vietnam, the ratio between women and men in top management is one to eight, while in the Philippines the number showed two to eight.
Moreover, women’s desire to leave the workforce is impacted by the unequal treatment they experience, where they feel unappreciated and unwelcome. It showed that 43% of women leaders are burned out and 29% of women are switching jobs or leaving the workforce.
We interviewed Sonal Shah and Keisha Mayuga, two women with extensive experience in the transport industry, about their encounters with gender bias.
With 18 years of expertise in catalysing urban change, Sonal is known as multi-sectoral professional who has a passion in sustainable transport, gender equality, and universal access. She also a founder of The Urban Catalyst and Executive Director of C-SEC (Centre for Sustainable and Equitable Cities).
Do you experience gender bias in the workplace?
Gender has played a role in my work environments in different ways.
I have often been the only woman in transport discussions with external stakeholders, which meant that I have had to make an effort to be heard and not get intimidated.
There are “strategies” on how to build a rapport when working with transport decision makers in India who are predominantly men. These are often outside of office hours as decision makers are often busy throughout the day to really absorb, process and discuss. Some of these include having dinner and a drink after office hours, where conversations may be possible or sharing lunch or drinking tea outside the office in an informal environment. But these are not really options that women professionals may have in a traditional milieu like India. Drawing these boundaries can be a prerequisite for our professionalism.
Sonal has devised strategies that work for her:
I have found that sharing and talking about my experience, while being aware of my privilege, is important.
What was the moment that made you realise the importance of being a feminist voice in transport?
In 2012, a horrifying case of violence and subsequent death of a young woman in the streets of India happened and it served as a turning point for Sonal. Then, She realised that the transport sector had not engaged with the gendered experience of mobility systems.
My journey started when I had the opportunity to focus on how transport systems were gendered. I found a purpose. I have pursued this path while reflecting constantly and striving to catalyse gender-just cities and organisations.
Has anyone inspired you to work in this field?
I was fortunate to be exposed to a feminist way of thinking when I was in architecture school, in a faculty that exposed me to Western feminist authors and to art. This had a profound impact on me at a young age in my life. That transformed me from being an obedient adolescent to a questioning adult. At school, I was not exposed to transport planning but to gender, politics, development, labor, and globalization, which helped me develop a broader perspective on feminism and feminist thought.
Keisha, an urban planner, channelled her passion to improve Metro Manila’s public transportation and cycling infrastructure through AltMobility PH and The Move As One Coalition. She was part of the Active Transport and the Reiner Lemoine Institute for Southeast Asian Power Sector Review project of World Bank as a Local Urban Planning Consultant.
Do you experience gender bias in the workplace?
In my places of work, I’m fortunate to have men who are generally respectful of women and recognize my capabilities. There are some challenges though with gender balance, especially with the number of women who I work with in the mobility space. Even if I am one of the few or sometimes the only woman in the workplace, I also am conscious to not letting this hinder me from asserting my abilities as a woman.
What is the moment or instance that made you realise the importance of being a feminist voice in transport?
The moment I realized I wanted to work in transport was actually motivated by this strong desire for a colleague of mine, a mother, to be able to spend more time with her child instead of in transit. I don’t really label myself as a feminist per se, but for me it’s all about dignity and justice in mobility. And of course, it happens that one of the most vulnerable groups of people who experience harassment and injustice in transport are women.
Has anyone inspired you to work in this space?
In the beginning, I was very much inspired by Julia Nebrija – another strong advocate for cycling and shared spaces in the Philippines at the time. Nowadays, I’m very inspired to continue my work because of the other women I work with in the civil society space especially. I’m inspired by the young women who are leading in my organizations, AltMobility PH and Move As One Coalition, because they have so much energy to assert themselves for better mobility. I’m proud to say I work with a lot of these strong, energetic, and inspiring women.
It is clear from their experience that gender bias still happens regularly, but there are some strategies for tackling it. Some women will undoubtedly experience confidence loss if they work in a workplace where men predominate. However, like Sonal said, don’t get intimidated and prepare your own strategies. On the other hand, it does seem that having a diversity and inclusion mindset is one method for eliminating gender bias, at least as viewed by Keisha in her surroundings.
NDC Transport Initiative for Asia (NDC-TIA) is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) supports this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag. It supports China, India, and Viet Nam as well as regional and global decarbonisation strategies to increase the ambition around low-carbon transport.
Published on 8 March 2023
In the frame of the International Women’s Day 2023, one of the remarkable mentors of the Women on the Move network, Dr. Sheilah, shared with us in a special interview her inspiring experience as a women leader in the transport sector.
This month is a great occasion to highlight women’s impact in different sectors of society. Transport has been one of the sectors where women have been working really hard to raise their voices and contribute from different perspectives. Dr. Sheilah is currently lecturer at the UP School of Urban and Regional Planning, Manila, the Philippines and was former Assistant Secretary for Planning and Project Development of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Her knowledge spans from research as well governmental implementation and enriches the discussions about transportation systems.
Additionally, she is a core member of Women in Transport Leadership (WiTL), a knowledge-sharing network aimed at empowering women and women leaders in transport in Australasia.
How can women impact the transport sector?
The transport sector has many spaces where women can take part nowadays, as users, workers, administrators, etc. and women can be change makers in all these areas. As users, women have to face so many situations, and we can use these experiences to work on the development and improvement of the transport sector.
Also as advocates, women have a huge impact because transport is so much more than what can be addressed by engineers and infrastructure. Women know what they are talking about and the needs they have to make transport more accessible as transport is about people. You could even say that transport needs a “care” component for the people, and this perspective is currently missing.
For example, a sidewalk is not only just a space for active mobility, but also the place for parents to carry their child in a safe purpose. Women have an impact because we have a conversation on how to improve the system which should serve the people.
Why is it important to promote women participation in research and development of the transport sector and the benefits?
To develop a sustainable system of transport, we all must understand the travel needs of all commuters as different groups of society. Women have different needs, but data about their mobility pattern are not enough. We need to work with them together. Including women in the development of the system is including the richness of their experience.
Bringing more women is bringing more perspectives from different fields and that is what the transport sector needs now, because the power of having a group of women advocating is huge and capable of creating the change that society needs in the transport sector.
I believe that if you have and implement the stories of women, the development of transportation becomes more powerful.
What are the obstacles that you have experienced as a woman in this sector?
One of the biggest obstacles for women is the system which doesn’t protect them in the first place. Then women also have to deal with internal challenges where they have to learn how to be confident.
For me it became an obstacle to not see many women in the beginning. I was intimidated.
In the Philippines context, the implementation still is very weak. The lack of recognition is a big obstacle in the transport sector, as women we must believe that we are able to contribute and not only focus on the outcomes but focus on the process as well.
The transport sector is doing a good process since researchers realized that transport is a multidisciplinary field. However, there still so many things to acknowledge and get a bigger picture to develop.
How would you motivate women who are currently working on this field?
The best way to motivate other women in the field is by showing them that work in transport has a deeper impact and is intended to turn transport systems into a platform for social equity. In addition, it is important to show them all the possible ways they can contribute as members of society.
Also, motivating and inspiring young women and showing that transport is much more than engineering are vital. It is important to include women of all ages. That is why mentoring programmes are so important. Being a feminist does not mean that women are better than men. But they deserve to be served better than they currently are and creating a system which supports women and their needs.
Nobody lives forever, but the fight can and will remain with the help of mentoring programmes. The fight for human rights, women’s rights, sustainable transport, must have an intergenerational approach.
In the network of Women on the Move, remarkable women like Dr. Sheilah, get in touch with women that are just starting to find their place in the transport sector. Mentors share their experiences with the next generation of champions. In this International Women’s Day, we want recognise the intense work of women all over the world, who work in a sector, which for many years was male dominated. Kudoz to their efforts to make these sectors accessible for everyone.
Dr. Shailah was also awarded as a Remarkable Feminist voice 2023 in the award ceremony after a productive study tour during the first week of March. The interview was conducted in the margins of this study tour.
To achieve sustainable mobility, we must integrate the experiences and realities of the half of the population that has not been included: women. This edition of #StoriesofChange explores Latin American cases.
At first, we could take is as read that the goal of climate action is to reduce emissions. But to achieve this, we became aware that we must transform the world as we know it. We also had a better understanding that the world and people are diverse. Different realities come across us. Understanding this is the first step when we talk about gender and mobility.
Feminist movements in recent decades have shown us how gender is a conditioning factor that is reflected in different areas of human life, including the way we move across cities.
As a social construct that associates a person’s biological sex with attitudes, feelings and behaviours in a certain culture, gender is also relates to social roles and identities that have constructed an inequality that mainly affects women.
But these differences are not universal. Other perspectives have allowed us to understand that we cannot speak of a universal experience of women, but that aspects of race, class, age, place of origin, among others, are also involved.
For instance, the women most exposed to the effects of climate change live mainly in rural areas[1]. Recognising that urban mobility is not gender neutral, we at GIZ have made efforts to integrate this vision to achieve diverse and fair cities for women and girls. While working on the topic globally, this is part of what we have achieved in Latin America.
Transport is about connecting people, giving them access to opportunities. It is an area of work with a very nice social sense.
Carolina Simonetti, General Manager of the Chilean Airline Association
Latin American cities do not differ from other cities in the world in terms of gender inequality. Current urban mobility systems are inadequate to the routines and needs of women, despite the fact that they are the main users of public transport. We build cities based on an apparently neutral model, but which in reality is closer to male needs.
Let us remind ourselves that travel routines and needs are also social constructions. Women are responsible for care activities: shopping, taking children to school, accompanying family members to medical visits. These activities have historically been relegated to women and current mobility planning does not take into account these trips, which are done in a staggered manner.
Cities are built without taking into account the movements and spatial requirements of women and their caring roles, we need to create spaces for us and our experiences.
Ana Lucía González, Deputy Mayor of Montes de Oca, Costa Rica
There are other problems related to gender inequality: sexual harassment in public transport, insecurity in public spaces, pavements not designed to carry children and strollers, buses without adequate infrastructure to meet women’s needs.
In addition to this, there are other complex problems that Latin American women experience: urban areas where public transport is inaccessible, expensive or far away from the experiences; racism and discrimination in public spaces, long distances and high transport costs between the periphery and the centre of the cities, which mainly affects women domestic workers, among others.
The lack of gender mainstreaming and women’s participation in the sector is a social problem with environmental consequences. The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a distrust of sustainable mobility modes. This has resulted in sustainable mobility alternatives being displaced by individual motorised travel.
Women do not feel safe to make walking trips and there is inadequate infrastructure for care trips. There is a gender gap between men and women in cycling skills and in the perceived safety of cycling infrastructure. Public transport does not cover the types of journeys women make, nor does it comprehensively address the problems women experience when using public transport.
We must change this scenario.
Making cities suitable for women and girls requires including a gender perspective in policies, plans, and projects. These are some of the initiatives that we at GIZ have implemented through the EUROCLIMA+ programme:
Colombia’s National Urban Mobility Strategy (ENMA in the Spanish abbreviation) is an important reference for other countries in the region, as Colombia is the country with the most bicycle trips and bicycle lanes built in all of Latin America.
The ENMA seeks to reduce the effects of climate change and GHG emissions by promoting active modes (walking and cycling) through an action plan which responds directly to the NDC commitments of the transport sector. This policy assumes the mainstreaming of the gender and differential and differential approach as vital components.
By incorporating this approach, we enable more robust analyses and recognise people’s different experiences and needs for moving. Therefore, the ENMA places particular emphasis on improving mobility conditions for women, children, adolescents, older adults and older adults and people with disabilities with disabilities.
With the MobiliseYourCity methodology, we have promoted Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans in Latin American cities. Currently, Ambato (Ecuador), Antofagasta (Chile) and Guadalajara (Mexico) already have robust planning to implement measures in their territories aimed at environmental, social and financial sustainability in their mobility systems.
In these projects, the inclusion of a gender perspective during the diagnostic phases – such as travel surveys, territory studies and analysis of transport routes – allowed to build a broader vision of the dynamics of people’s mobility and highlighted the gap that exists with respect to women’s needs for mobility.
In the case of Ambato, its SUMP contains the packages of measures “Programme for the reduction of inequality, poverty and gender gaps in transport” and “Programme for the improvement of rural accessibility and specific populations”.Guadalajara’s SUMP includes, in its integral packages, “Mainstreaming aspects of gender perspective, inclusion and diversity in mobility studies and works”. On the other hand, the SUMP of Antofagasta identifies gender gaps within the social aspects of mobility, which will be comprehensively addressed in its packages of measures on public transport or land use and public space, for example. Furthermore, in its measure “Creation of a regional metropolitan transport corporation”, the work plan explains that a Mobility Policy with a Gender Approach will be elaborated in short term.
These learnings will be disseminated in a publication to be launched in the middle of the year entitled How to integrate a gender perspective into SUMPs: Lessons from Latin American cities.
Indigenous women are the main users of the tuc tucs in San Juan Comalapa, a municipality in Guatemala where the majority of the population belongs to the Kaqchikel indigenous community.
In this pilot project, we provide electric units and the installation of charging systems with a focus on social transport. The units were designed to meet the needs of women not covered by conventional tuc tucs: they are comfortable to ride in, have more space for carrying packages and large objects. In addition, some units are for the exclusive use of older adults, children and people with disabilities.
Historically, the transport sector has low women participation. For example, in Latin America, the participation of women in the transport sector ranges from 5.1% of the market in Bolivia to 17.5% of the total employees in the transport sector in Colombia.
Broadening women participation is the key to change the standards of urban infrastructure provision, from the inclusion of women in jobs that are not traditionally occupied by them, such as bus driving, operation of transport system and institutions responsible for urban mobility services.
Women networks in transport are therefore key to boost women participation in this sector. In Latin America, the outstanding network is Mujeres en Movimiento (Women in Motion). Also in Asia, the Women on the Move network promotes women’s engagement in male-dominated sector, developing peer-to-peer format for dialogues on gender equality and recently set up a mentoring programme to inspire and encourage women in the region to actively transform the transport sector in their country.
To contribute to changing this context, EUROCLIMA+ has supported two editions of the programme “Urban Women Leaders”, a leadership program co-created by Women in Motion (WIM) and the Bernard Van Leer Foundation.
Direct beneficiaries of the EUROCLIMA+ programme participated in the training, from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Uruguay. As a final activity for the 2022 edition, participants developed an UM intervention to address local challenges for promoting gender inclusive cities. The projects are available on the WIM website.
We know that the path to reduce the gender gap in mobility is still enormous. However, learning from these experiences has allowed us to synthesize these lessons and we will seek to replicate them in other contexts in the region.
At GIZ we lead the community of practice “Sustainable Urban Mobility Platform in Latin America”, an initiative to promote the exchange of knowledge and the creation of synergies in the region. One of our objectives is the mainstreaming of the gender approach in the activities of this platform.
Gender mainstreaming will be present not only in future projects, but we will continue to promote the topic in activities such as workshops, trainings, dissemination of information, exchange and networking spaces.
Mobility in our cities will never be truly sustainable if we do not continue to integrate the diverse experiences of half of the population. The facts have shown that doing this has a positive impact for all people.
There was a moment when I understood that my actions and words spoke not only of mobility but also of representation and the presence of women in this sector. There I understood that I had to integrate gender issues as an essential part of my actions.
Jone Orbea, leader of the MOVE Programme, Electric Mobility in Latin America and the Caribbean, UNEP
[1] UNFCCC. New Report: Why Climate Change Impacts Women Differently Than Men | UNFCCC, 2022.
Exceptional women working in the transport sector are not rare, but beardly have a seat at the table. Role models in leading positions, private and public sector, are crucial to boost the decarbonization of the transport sector. Therefore, from the 27th of February to the 2nd of March, remarkable women from all over the world joint the first Study Tour of Feminist Voices in transportation organized by the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI) and Women Mobilize Women (WMW).
During this time, they had the chance to share knowledge, experiences and inspire each other. This led to an impactful exchange for the development of transportation by 30 different feminist perspectives.
In the award ceremony on March 2nd in Berlin, the participants talked about relevant topics like safety in transportation, the development of the sector and the impact that women can make as change makers and advocates in this sector.
Four women from the network Women on the Move, Dr Sheilah Gaabucayan-Napalang; Keisha Mayuga; Dr. Kalpana Viswanath; and Sonal Shah, also made highlighted contributions during the study tour and ceremony.
Dr. Kalpana Viswanath shared inspiring words on the topic of safety of transportation in the cities and the importance of women being part of the development of strategies to make public spaces accessible for every person in society.
“We also have to recognize the right to enjoy the cities. As women, we hear early that the streets are not for us as we cannot enjoy them without having to deal with harassment. This community is trying to change this for future generations. You all are inspiring women”.
Dr. Kalpana Viswanath
During the award ceremony the 5th edition of Remarkable Feminist Voice in Transport 2023 was launched and many remarkable women were awarded for their impact on supporting different projects in the transport sector.
Published on 2 March 2023
In a special interview in the frame of the International Women’s Day (IWD) 2023, Kawtar shared with us her experience, perspective, advice, and challenges of being a women change maker in a mostly male dominated sector.
Everything comes from a change of perspective and women can bring such innovative ideas when it comes to the development of transport.
–Dr. Kawtar Benabdelaziz
It is not new that the transport sector has been for many years a male dominated sector in which women have been working hard for a seat at the table and participate in the development of it. This is the case of Kawtar Benabdelaziz, a remarkable women and researcher in the electric mobility sector in Morocco. Kawtar has been working in the development of electric vehicle ecosystems for several years and there is a lot to learn from her. Her case is inspirational for other women who are now making a change in the transport sector on the route to zero emission transport.
Unfortunally, women tend to be underrepresented in the transport industry in Morocco, and in general. The majority of workers have been historically men and nowadays, just a few women are involved in the decision-making process. However, it is fascinating that there are many women studying to become engineers and developing skills in science to work in this sector. At the same time, there are professional training programs which encourage women to get into mechanic-and driving fields and to pursue their career in the industry. Of course, there still are a few women working as drivers, but there are many encouraging initiatives and programs and that show a positive progress.
In the transport sector, there are different kinds of jobs where women started working for already many years, such as drivers, technicians, administrators, researchers or even more. Depending on the context of the country, sometimes seeing women, especially as drivers, call the attention of the people, but it also highlights their participation and visibility in the field, one aspect that motivates other women to join and be part of the change. However, there is a difference between what happens in the big cities and on the countryside, especially when it comes to education and job opportunities.
Women can contribute a lot to the topics of transport. A perspective coming from a woman is usually very rich and considers points that sometimes are not obvious. From a security point of view, women have been dealing with many problems within transport, and it is important to work for safety in public places. Being surrounded by women make other women feel safer. Women are the ones that mostly use public transportation in their daily life, and because of that, their perspective is essential to creative and innovative solutions.
To boost women’s participation in the field, it is also essential to look at gender equality policies that facilitate the employability of women in different sectors. Recently, different countries worldwide have been working on developing standardised policies to promote equality regarding job opportunities. For many years, women have had to deal with female-specific stereotypes that affect decision-making when applying for a job. It is important to separate these aspects from reality and highlight that women are not less capable of achieving their professional goals because of their gender.
Knowing by having the example of a person who succeeded as a woman in a male-dominated field gives motivation, encourages, and gives confidence. Sharing experiences can also encourage women’s participation. Good examples are the many existing networks often based on mentorship programs in the transport field. What is better than letting other remarkable women guide your journey? Also, getting to know the personal stories of women worldwide creates a great connection. We can even take advantage of technology to have an international support network to celebrate each other’s achievements and even create job opportunities
Sometimes it is hard to prepare women to face what they face; as a woman, you sometimes face discrimination and harassment, and it can get tough, but believing in yourself and developing confidence is very important in every aspect of life. It is important to give the tools like networks and training programs at hand, but sometimes you will make some mistakes, and that is part of the process, but you have to hold on to your passion and have the confidence that you are going to be a change maker if you stick to your beliefs.
Nowadays, many initiatives aim to empower women’s participation in the sector where women were not visible for many years. Transportation is one of the most important sectors for social development and climate sustainability, and it has shown many benefits of including women in the field. Kawtar is a great example of a change maker taking part in different movements and academia to achieve zero emissions in the transport sector. Around International Women’s Day 2023, we want to share empowering stories to inspire women from all fields to raise their voices, participate in events, and work together in the development of the transport sector worldwide.
The Maritime Training Facility at the premises of the MISC will allow the national maritime sectors in the RMI to sustainably build on and enhance local capacity and maritime skills.
The Collage of the Marshall Islands (CMI) will facilitate an accredited course for sailors at the Maritime Training Facility from August 2023 which will enhance local capacity and maritime skills and therefore allow the national maritime sector to advance in their competent and qualified maritime personnel.
On 7 February 2023, the Opening Ceremony for the Maritime Training Facility in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) was jointly held by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technologies (MOTC&IT), the Marshall Islands Shipping Cooperation (MISC) in Majuro, the Collage of the Marshall Islands (CMI), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the German Government represented by Ambassador of Germany to the Philippines, Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau H.E. Mrs. Anke Reiffenstuel and Germany’s Special Envoy for the Pacific Island States H.E. Ambassador Beate Grzeski.
Under the bilateral cooperation between the governments of the RMI and Germany, GIZ (German Development Cooperation) implements the Low Carbon Sea Transport Project (LCST) since 2017 with its objective to work towards transitioning to a low carbon domestic maritime fleet for the Marshall Islands, operated by Marshallese crew that will be trained at the Maritime Training Facility.
Speaking on behalf of the German Government and the LCST, the German Ambassador to the Marshall Islands, H.E. Anke Reiffenstuel said that the Maritime Training Center and efforts taken by the various stakeholders will support sustainable training efforts, act as a cooperation hub for maritime training and serve the maritime industry, and thus the people of the RMI. “It is exciting to see the future possibilities for students and young maritime professionals to start their career in the maritime industry and onboard seagoing vessels. Especially the focus on low-carbon operations will support the path towards sustainable shipping within RMI and give your students a head-start in the future of maritime transport.”
RMI has set itself the NDC target of achieving transport-wide reduction of total domestic transport GHG emissions 27% below 2010 levels by 2030 and transitioning to a low carbon transport future and is committed to reducing GHG emissions from domestic shipping 40% below 2010 levels by 2030 and full decarbonization of the sector by 2050.
The project is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) funded project on Transitioning to Low Carbon Sea Transport implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Republic of the Marshall Islands’s Ministry for Transport, Communication and Information Technology and various partners – nationally and internationally. The project supports in delivering RMI’s Nationally Determined Contributions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
This is how GIZ colleague Andrea Palma put it when she described to us Chile’s plans for implementing national climate plans. In nine interviews we talked to GIZ colleagues and ministry representatives from Chile, China, Colombia, India, Kenya, Morocco, Philippines, Uganda, and Vietnam in an attempt to identify the most important drivers and prerequisites for implementing climate measures in the transport sector. Please click here for access to the full publication.
Over the last three years more than 140 new and updated NDCs have been submitted. The share of countries committing either to emission reductions in the transport sector or to other kinds of quantifiable action doubled in comparison to the first NDC generation (from 21 to 42%). The share of NDCs containing transport mitigation measures also increased, from 65% to 78%. Among the countries that we investigated, Chile, Colombia, Morocco and Uganda committed to quantifiable transport targets (e.g. Chile which plans to electrify 58% of private vehicles by 2050). All of them (except for India and the Philippines) include measures aimed at reducing emissions from transport in their latest NDC.
Now, it is time for the pledges and commitments contained in the NDCs to be translated into tangible policies and action through laws, governance structures, stakeholder ownership, inclusiveness, funding mechanisms, and accountability instruments.
Most countries have comprehensive laws on climate change and environmental protection that serve as the basis of national climate action. In Kenya, the 2016 Climate Change Act requires all ministries to establish climate change coordination units, among other sectoral requirements. In 2020, Vietnam introduced the Law on Environmental Protection, which determines the emissions reduction target for the transport sector and thus guides sectoral action. Chile’s Climate Change Law obliges all sectors to develop plans to lower emissions. Uganda approved the Climate Change Act in 2021, concurrent with its NDC revision. The legislation mandates the implementation of the Paris Agreement in Uganda and provides a basis for the implementation of NDC pledges. The Colombian Climate Action Law sets out a catalog of government actions and outlines an agenda for compliance with the Paris Agreement and carbon neutrality by 2050.
In some countries, climate laws foresee specific governance structures – such as the establishment of a climate change unit within each department of government, as is the case in Kenya. Many of these laws are comprehensive and cross-cutting in scope, obliging ministries to consider climate change in their policymaking. However, when national or regional authorities fail to back climate action with corresponding budget allocations, climate ambition may amount to so much “hot air”.
At the sectoral level, some countries have already developed strategy frameworks for transport and climate change. In Vietnam and Chile, for example, climate change laws contain binding sectoral targets and outline sectoral actions. Morocco, has included the decarbonization of transport in its Vision 2030 and energy strategy.
Translating long-term strategies and NDC-based targets and measures into real-world action requires the activation of various actors, including national, regional, and local officials, as well as stakeholders in the private sector. A comprehensive governance framework can help to harmonize the activities of actors, i.e. between federal ministries or economic sectors (i.e. horizontally) or at different levels of government (i.e. vertically).
Establishing interagency climate coordination units or setting up intersectoral teams are two possible solutions for improving vertical and horizontal coordination.
Governance approaches differ between countries. Some countries, such as Kenya, have established climate change units within each government agency, thus shifting responsibility to the agency level. Others, such as Colombia with SISCLIMA, the National Climate Change System, have created a centralized agency responsible for all steps, including the setting of targets, the development and implementation of measures, and their monitoring and evaluation. These climate change agencies can be powerful actors that drive action across sectors and at varying levels of government. However, when such agencies are not equipped with an adequate budget or the necessary political authority, they are likely to remain on the sidelines, unable to trigger meaningful climate action.
Stakeholders taking responsibility for or “owning” a set of policies or targets can be a determining factor for successful implementation. In the run-up to the second round of NDCs due in 2020–2021, sector ministries such as transport ministries became more deeply involved than in 2015 and beyond. This time, extensive stakeholder consultations that integrated the public were held in many countries, including Kenya. Still, very few NDCs mention the involvement of the transport ministry.
The infrastructure units described in the governance section have helped Chile foster ownership in its cities and regions. By contrast, India has been pursuing a very centralized approach, in which the national government assigns numerous responsibilities and targets to cities and states, without consulting them beforehand. To encourage action at the municipal level, India has developed a system in which selected cities compete with each other in terms of sustainable development.
Transport stakeholders should partake in the NDC development process from the start as it is them who have to translate NDC commitments into policies and actions. As shown, strong political obligations (e.g., from climate change laws), awareness raising and involvement in climate change discussions and competitions can incite engagement and ownership of stakeholders.
Climate change reveals – and exacerbates – existing inequalities in our societies. Accordingly, transport measures designed to reduce emissions and support adaptation must be inclusive and equitable. As the IPCC puts it, “Attention to equity and broad and meaningful participation of all relevant actors in decision-making at all scales can build social trust, and deepen and widen support for transformative changes” (2022).
Morocco, for example, has established the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE). The CESE seeks to promote dialogue and debate, with the aim of encouraging societal consensus on important issues. In the past, it has recommended sustainable mobility policies to the government, based on its discussions with civil society.
The Ugandan NDC intends to assure that the updated NDC actions will be implemented through a whole-of-society approach that involves government, the private sector, academia, civil society, youth, and international development partners.
Fifty countries, almost all of them Non-Annex I countries, have indicated financing needs in their new and updated NDCs. Nevertheless, these NDCs contain little information on how implementation is to be financed.
In the past, national public and private sources of funding accounted for 98% of global transport investment. Public sources of investment (and accompanying regulations) are necessary to leverage larger streams of private funding. Economic instruments such as taxes and subsidies can be used to incentivize or discourage certain investments, sometimes while generating government revenue.
The National Planning Department of Colombia has developed a financing system that assesses how public investment measures affect climate change, including those in the transport sector. In addition, the Colombian government created a national carbon tax in 2016 to discourage the use of fossil fuels and generate revenue. These are just two of the many financing instruments that Colombia has implemented.
The Ugandan Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development is in the process of setting up a Climate Finance Unit. The unit will be tasked with enhancing institutional coordination and will have the capacity to design funding programs and mobilize resources for climate actions stipulated under the country’s NDC.
Regardless of whether funding comes from domestic public or private sources or from international funds (such as the Green Climate Fund), transport ministry officials need to know how to access necessary financing and how to shift funding from carbon-intensive transport infrastructure and systems to sustainable means of transport. Application processes for international funds can be tedious, time-consuming, and cost intensive, which is why many developing countries obtain much less funding than they are eligible to receive. Accessing domestic resources or implementing fiscal measures that generate revenue also require knowledge and capacities that are not always available to transport officials.
Only by using monitoring and reporting emissions and verifying reductions can the effectiveness of measures be ensured and further improved.
Kenya’s Climate Change Act (2016) requires public- and private-sector actors to develop and report GHG profiles. In 2019, the transport sector was the first sector to comply with the act’s requirement of publishing an annual climate change report that describes the transport sector’s emissions and mitigation actions.
Since 2021, Chile has been working to standardize its MRV system across all sectors in order to make them comparable and increase accountability. In Colombia, a centralized MRV system for tracking mitigation actions and emissions is in place. Compliance is mandatory, but so far there has been no follow-up. In fulfillment of the 06/ND-CP directive, the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport is currently developing an MRV system. Morocco has a national inventory system and offers training courses for ministry employees.
So far, 23 countries have set GHG emission targets for the transport sector in their latest NDC. Uganda is the only one of the assessed countries that mentions a quantified target. Sectoral targets may simplify monitoring and reporting because it is possible to track them by setting up a GHG inventory while tracking the mitigation effect of isolated mitigation measures requires the set-up of complex MRV systems.
If the world continues to release emissions at its current level, we will pass the 1.5°C limit in nine years (Global Carbon Budget 2022). Hence, there’s no time to lose: climate pledges need to be implemented now. This is no easy task, as interviewees from nine countries have made abundantly clear. Strong political will at high levels and in climate change line ministries is only one important element; the other side of the coin is (early) involvement of sectoral players at all levels.
We hope that this report inspires policymakers and climate change advocates to further increase peer learning efforts in order to adjust and improve implementation mechanisms with the goal of setting the wheels in motion for sustainable transport and a livable future.
The ‘Advancing Transport Climate Strategies’ (TraCS) project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection’s International Climate Initiative. The project aims to support developing countries in systematically assessing greenhouse gas emissions from transport, in analysing emission reduction potentials and in optimising the sector’s contribution to the mitigation target in countries’ NDC. TraCS feeds into other international cooperation projects run by the Government of Germany.
In digestible 45-minute deep-dive sessions, GIZ’s international cooperation experts present their work on transport decarbonisation in diverse country contexts. They discuss what they did, what their project has achieved, what they learned in the process, and open the sessions for an inclusive Q&A. We’re proud to present our new webinar series: Changing Transport Insights.
1. Freight Modal Shift in Indonesia | Januar 20, 2023 @ 4 pm CET
Hosted by Friedel Sehlleier
Event recording: Changing Transport Insights Series 1: Freight modal shift in Indonesia – YouTube
3. Training e-mobility technicians with a gender perspective in Colombia | February 13, 2023 @ 1:30 pm CET
Hosted by Andrés Martínez, GIZ Colombia
Event Recording: Changing Transport Insights Series 2: Training for e-mobility technicians with a gender perspective
2. The story of China’s EV-uptake | March 9, 2023 @ 10:00am CET
Hosted by Xia Yun
Register now: Changing Transport Insights Series 3 – The story of China’s EV-uptake
The series is specifically targeted at practitioners from the fields of development, transport and climate change and is open to anyone interested. Recordings will be uploaded on YouTube afterwards.
Mark your calendars for an exciting series of success stories that contribute to making our lives more climate-friendly and sustainable. Let yourself be inspired and take part!
Since October 2018, as part of the EUROCLIMA+ programme, GIZ has supported the Regional Government of Antofagasta in developing a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (hereafter SUMP) for its capital city.
The development of this SUMP has been the first experience in designing a comprehensive sustainable mobility plan in Chile, including both motorised and non-motorised transport, focused on greenhouse gas emission reduction.
These plans are innovative instruments that aim to turn the traditional form of transport planning in most of the world’s cities on its head. Instead of focusing planning exclusively on reducing travel times at the lowest possible cost, but at high environmental cost and low protection of life, they put people and the environment at the centre of planning, ensuring that mobility is clean, safe, healthy and efficient.
Ewout Sandker, Head of Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union in Chile
During the last 30 years, the national government has been developing urban transport system plans (hereafter STU) in more than 20 cities, focusing on time and fuel cost savings through almost exclusively infrastructure investment projects for cars and public transport.
While the Antofagasta SUMP development process is coming to a successful conclusion, like any first experience, it has had difficulties from which we can learn for the next SUMPs in other cities.
An initial difficulty in developing the Antofagasta SUMP was the limited participation of consultants in the bidding process, as Libelula (2022)1 analysed. Only one of the five Chilean consulting firms invited to bid presented itself. When reviewing the Terms of Reference (hereafter ToR) for the development of Antofagasta SUMP in search of the causes of this lack of participation, we can find some clues in the questions posed by the consultants during the bidding process. There were several questions primarily about the novel features of the SUMP method, contrasted to the STU method familiar to the consultants and the transportation modelling and evaluation task descriptions.
Regarding the SUMP method, the STU method should adopt five novel features because they add value to the Chilean current transport planning practice.
However, regarding transportation modelling and evaluation tasks, questions posed by consultants during the bidding process denote that they found that these descriptions were oversimplified, contrasted to the STU method.
According to the STU method, estimates of demand and benefits in terms of time, cost, and emissions savings are based on transportation models calibrated from travel surveys conducted to significant samples of 1% of households in each city. These models allow simulation of the balance between transportation supply and demand with different projects and measures and at future time cuts.
Each preliminary STU plan must be modelled and evaluated to find the optimal mix of projects and measures. In contrast, the SUMP method, at least as described in the ToR, requested the development of a modelling task with a general and oversimplified treatment that perplexed the consultants.
There is no simple model to estimate emission reduction from transport projects in different scenarios. Transport emissions result from a complex equilibrium process between demand and supply in at least four stages. Hence, the best alternative for emission estimates is using the already calibrated transport models used by the national government.
Transport modelling should not be an underestimated task in SUMP development; on the contrary, it has the potential to strengthen the technical analysis. Using modelling in SUMPs would be particularly relevant for analysing specific measures’ effects on emissions
For example, modelling could determine whether the potential users of a bikeway project are former car users, in which case emissions would be reduced or are from public transport, in which case emissions are not reduced, and demand for the latter mode is cannibalised from another sustainable mode.
While these transportation models have been used in STU to estimate demand and service levels of infrastructure projects, they can also be used to study other types of sustainable measures such as vehicle restriction with a daily pass, congestion pricing, low emission zones, transit-oriented development, bicycle lanes, pedestrian circuits, among others.
However, it is essential to note that these transportation models and evaluation methods should be improved to produce better estimates of the effect of cycling and pedestrian projects on travel demand and emissions.
The SUMP Antofagasta is based on the development of longitudinal and transversal corridors for sustainable modes. To achieve this, investment in priority actions is proposed through 7 packages of measures:
In conclusion, the method for developing the next SUMPs in Chile should integrate the novel features from the SUMP and the best current practices and modelling tools already applied in Chile. The Regional Government of Antofagasta has understood this and, supported by Libelula (2022), has prepared the ToR for the development of the Calama (the second most populated city of this region) SUMP using this integrated method.
Integrating SUMP and STU methods is the first step toward synthesising both plans. Thus, instead of having two plans per city competing for financial resources, we should end up with only one plan having an optimal combination of sustainable measures to effectively reduce vehicle kilometers and emissions.
“We all know that we have to move towards lifestyle changes. We are in a condition of climate change where our own actions have done a lot of damage to the planet. However, this is quite complex, because it means changing habits and the way of being, the way of conceiving the city. And that is the great challenge of SUMP: how we generate other types of mobilities that are healthier and more environmentally sustainable, but that imply a change in our ways of being and living”.
Ricardo Díaz Cortés , Regional Governor of Antofagasta.
The EUROCLIMA+ project is commissioned by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The Antofagasta Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) is part of the EUROCLIMA+ programme, funded by the European Union with technical assistance from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
This article is part of our #StoriesofChange where we profile the work of our partner countries in developing climate actions in transport. Read more #StoriesOfChange and follow the Hashtag on Twitter.
Have you ever started a new diet or fitness regimen? As any nutritionist or personal trainer will tell you, having a plan is essential. In other words, motivation is not enough. To make genuine progress, you need to be systematic. Specifically, you need to assess your current situation; to define appropriate goals and actions; and to track your progress. All three of these activities are united by a dependence on data – e.g. concerning your calorie intake, current weight, or the number of kilometres you run each week.
A Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system is essentially no different. Indeed, climate action could be described a “fitness regimen” for the planet. To keep global warming below 1.5C, governments need to take stock of the status quo; define abatement targets and associated measures for attaining them; and monitor progress achieved. All of these measures depend on a robust MRV system.
We at Changing Transport have been supporting countries with the development and implementation of MRV systems for over ten years. In this article, we shed light on MRV systems – exploring what they are and how they work – using examples from our past work in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Kenya, Indonesia, Peru, Uganda and Viet Nam.
MRV systems are used to keep track of various factors and trends, including in particular:
In the 2007 Bali Action Plan, countries agreed to develop capacities for Measuring, Reporting, and Verifying their emission reduction efforts. Building upon the IPCC guidelines for GHG inventories, the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) provides general guidance on the design of MRV systems. However, the transport sector has its own unique characteristics and measurement challenges. Accordingly, in 2014, GIZ published an MRV Blueprint for Transport in collaboration with experts and partnering countries. The approaches described in this document were further refined as Peru and Indonesia (acting with GIZ’s support) became global frontrunners in the formulation of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA) for the transport sector. Specifically, in 2014, the Ministry of Transport in Peru began to address the urban transport sector, building a robust MRV system that has detailed protocols for reporting and verifying mitigation. Since 2017, Indonesia’s Sustainable Urban Transport Program (SUTRI NAMA) has been supporting policy formulation at the national level and will achieve an estimated indirect mitigation impact of 222,600 tCO2e over 2022–2032. Indonesia’s MRV system was essential for the quantification of this mitigation impact.
Another important milestone in the development of MRV systems was the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015. Each signatory to the Paris Agreement is obliged to submit a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). Yet formulating an NDC requires a great deal of hard data. Accordingly, prior work performed in signatory countries to establish MRV systems in connection NAMAs proved to be extremely valuable. Some countries, however – such as Tunisia – lacked experience formulating mitigation actions. Hence, the TRANSfer project helped Tunisia to develop a detailed mitigation concept for the transport sector, which was included in the country’s 2015 NDC. Alongside the expansion of renewable energy, measures in the transport sector will account for the bulk of the mitigation achieved up to 2030 (namely, 37% of the calculated emission reduction).
With the adoption of the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) under the Paris Agreement, countries pledged to enhance their existing MRV systems by adhering to clearer rules and standards for data collection and reporting. The ETF builds on existing MRV principles; it establishes a common reporting format and enhances clarity regarding ambitions and progress. The ETF requires national GHG inventories as well as NDC reporting. While the ETF guidance applies to both developed and developing countries, it also provides flexibility to account for divergent national capacities.
We will explore the consequences of the ETF for the transport sector in an upcoming publication.
The M in MRV technically stands for both measurement and monitoring; it thus encompasses both regular data collection (measurement) and the tracking of progress based on those data (monitoring). Once you have identified the forms of data that you require, the next step is to obtain them. However, this can give rise to numerous challenges. For example, some forms of data might not be accessible or not readily available. Alternatively, some categories of data may be proprietary and in the hands of private-sector organisations. Yet another common problem is that data may be old, and thus unsuitable, as tracking progress requires accurate and current data. All of these difficulties underscore that data collection is no easy task. Indeed, it requires an appropriately trained staff and substantial resources.
However, countries have been rising to the challenges associated with data collection. The Ministry of Transport in Viet Nam, for example, has been using GIZ’s TrIGGER tool to account for the country’s main sources of transport sector emissions. The tool employs a streamlined and bottom-up data collection process in combination with an emphasis on available and collectable data. The tool quickly spotlighted the measures with the highest mitigation potential: specifically, improving the energy efficiency of vehicle; shifting freight transport from road to waterways or railways; and shifting from private vehicles to public transport and cleaner fuels. This assessment laid the foundation for transport measures in Viet Nam’s 2020 NDC.
Uganda and the Dominican Republic have also gone through similar processes: Together with TraCS staff, they collected data and conducted a status-quo inventory of GHG emissions. These data were used to develop emission reduction models, which enabled the evaluation and prioritisation of different mitigation actions. Uganda’s data collection process highlighted both the opportunities and challenges faced when transitioning to sustainable transport.
What if important data are missing? A crucial distinction is whether data are unavailable or merely inaccessible, as these are two distinct problems. If data are unavailable – i.e. do not exist – then you must collect them on your own, or hire someone to do so. By contrast, if data are inaccessible – i.e. they exist, are not publicly available – then the solution is to sign a data sharing agreement with the respective data owner, e.g. a national statistical office or private-sector company.
The possible scope of “in-house” data collection depends crucially on the staffing and financial resources that a country can devote to the MRV process. Data collection conducted in-house may range from surveying households about their travel behaviour to the solicitation of data on fuel sales to estimate the transport sector activity, and may be gathered by one’s own staff or associated departments of government, or, alternatively, by hiring external experts. When TrIGGER was adopted in Viet Nam, “proxies” were used to overcome gaps in the data. Specifically, if it is not possible to directly collect the data you need (e.g. total fuel sales in a country), one solution is to collect a “proxy” – that is, a related piece of data that allows you to estimate the missing figure. For example, if you know the domestic fuel sales of a single gas station operator, and you know or can estimate the company’s market share, you can easily obtain an estimate of total domestic fuel sales.
Another important MRV activity is to regularly review the gathered data in order to update the country’s mitigation policies and NDC. In 2019, TraCs and EUROCLIMA+ helped Colombia to update its data collection activities and mitigation scenarios. This included work to accelerate the country’s emissions reduction pathway.
The UNFCCC Compendium on GHG Baselines and Monitoring is a vast repository of knowledge on how to assess mitigation actions in the transport sector. The measures and process steps that are described in the compendium are adaptable to local circumstances and capacities. Countries can use this knowledge resource to estimate mitigation potential and forecast emissions trends. For a deeper dive on this issue, view our webinar series.
Countries can significantly ease the effort required to compile data as well as improve data availability by adopting a sustainable and robust data collection system in line with the UN’s statistical requirements compendium and by encouraging cooperation between additional official data collectors (e.g. between the national statistical office and motor vehicle department). For example, it is now standard practice for Kenya’s aviation authorities to report their data on a quarterly basis to the national bureau of statistics. However, changing data collection and sharing practices takes time. The EU, for example, needed over two decades to develop its system, while many developing countries started just some years ago. To be sure, Rome wasn’t built in a day – but every successful #StoryofChange starts with a first step.
In the reporting phase of the MRV system, information on data collection and analysis activities are shared with relevant stakeholders. Reporting can take various forms, such as a GHG inventory or report on NDC implementation. Yet whatever their form, reports should enable both internal and external stakeholders to clearly understand what has been done, when and how. Based on national and global reports, for example, we know that transport sector emissions rebounded after the COVID-19 lockdowns, “growing by 8% to nearly 7.7 Gt CO2” in 2021. Furthermore, passenger cars are the main polluter, representing 41% of emissions in the sector (see the IEA Tracking Report for Transport). These are important statistics that would not exist without national MRV systems in place.
Working in close collaboration with the TraCs project, the Kenyan Department of Transport quickly assumed a vanguard role in the country, inaugurating the first sector-specific annual report on emissions and climate change actions (with the third edition expected in 2022; see here and here). The report shows how transport contributes to climate change, highlights progress in cutting emissions, and describes planned transformation measures.
While such reports are highly valuable for national policymakers, they are not designed exclusively for domestic consumption. Indeed, it is important to adhere to UNFCCC requirements and international standards, in order to ease the work of international climate experts who collect and analyse such data. In line with this consideration, TraCs assisted Kenya with the development of Data Collection Templates for Climate Change Reporting. The templates provide guidance to third parties who are engaged in data collection and reporting, both in relation to measuring current emissions and tracking abatement progress.
Verification involves confirming the accuracy and robustness of the previous two steps. This aspect of the MRV system can be the trickiest – but only if the M and R are not fully developed or somehow deficient. The IPCC has published guidelines for verification practices that is available here. The four most common verification formats are as follows:
Ideally, the verification process should not only enhance the robustness of the data, but also directly improve the data management capacities of relevant staff. Demonstrating good data collection and verification practices can be vital for tapping into national and international funding. Yet another important aspect of the process is to document the verification activities themselves, in order to correct deficits and ensure adherence to best practice.
Ultimately, MRV systems are crucial for the evidence-based development, implementation and monitoring of climate action measures. As the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport puts it: “Government agencies are only able to set effective reduction policies if they can accurately determine energy consumption and GHG emissions, and monitor the results of reduction initiatives.”
At Changing Transport, we have been helping developing and emerging economies to formulate and implement socially beneficial climate action measures in the transport sector for over ten years, including in Chile, Colombia, China, India, Morocco, Kenya, Indonesia, and Viet Nam.
The Changing Transport Transparency Toolkit provides step-by-step guidance for the development and implementation of an MRV system, drawing on strategies and methods tested and proven in real-world settings.
Additional inspiring stories are available on our website.
During their study tours, two delegations – from the Ministry of Transport of Viet Nam (MOT), Ho Chi Minh City and from the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) – examined charging infrastructure development in Germany and the Netherlands. The two countries account for more than half of the charging points across the European Union. This article outlines five success factors for charging infrastructure development.
Globally, the Netherlands have the most electric vehicle charging points per capita and spatially have the densest charging infrastructure network. The country draws its strong position from collaboration with and interlinking of stakeholders. The Dutch government drives national policy focusing on encouraging electric mobility in general but assigns decision-making power to regions and municipalities. Local authorities structure local incentive programmes, such as Amsterdam’s city-specific decarbonisation strategy to drive electric vehicle penetration.
For charging infrastructure, the Dutch government instated the Dutch “right to charge” as a demand-driven approach. It requires the municipalities to set up public charging points within 250m of a home at the request of the citizens who own an electric vehicle. The charging point operators (CPO) validate the demand and choose the charging points’ location based on transparent criteria, including available capacity, accessibility, visibility and local impacts. The charging point is set up in collaboration with government bodies and distribution system operators (DSO), ensuring grid stability, and that EV charging data flows to all parties.
The municipalities work closely with DSOs and CPOs who build the network on their behalf and ensure interoperability with existing payment models and compliance with standards.
Local authorities provide concessions to charging point operators based on public tenders. Dutch municipalities no longer need to subsidise but receive EUR 500 for each charging point from the public-private partnership. The generated money is reinvested in the development of smart charging pilots. The charging point operators benefit from the ensured demand which results from the right to charge, and from the long-term investment horizon.
Municipalities and regions often cooperate for joint tenders for improved bargaining power. In 2016, Rotterdam and 16 other cities in the area awarded a ten year-concession. They set out technical specifications such as compatibility requirements, 100% renewable electricity, 15 years life span of stations and charging costs up to € 0,26/kWh (excl. VAT). The operators were ranked and selected based on their service quality, assessed through several action plans, including organisational aspects, communications, service provision to the user, innovation and sustainability and economic criteria.
The Netherlands emphasised standards early on. ElaadNL, a knowledge and innovation centre in the field of smart charging infrastructure funded by the DSOs, was founded in 2009. This vendor-independent equipment certification centre ensures that standards are met, and that all equipment is interoperable. ElaadNL also supports the development of charging standards and open protocols, which are crucial to the development of open markets.
Standards and open protocols are also at the centre of the Dutch government’s National Charging Infrastructure Agenda. The multi-year policy programme, which entails a set of agreements between the various stakeholders, is an integrated approach to achieve the fast upscaling of charging infrastructure. Apart from implementation and price transparency, open protocols and open markets, the agenda aims to boost smart charging. Collaboratively, the stakeholders develop market modes and technical architecture and organise legislation and regulation.
Grid integration and smart charging are also keywords in Germany’s Masterplan Charging Infrastructure II, published in October 2022. It includes 68 concrete measures with a timeline which will accelerate the network expansion. One aspect is planning and forecasting: For simplified planning procedures, DSOs will prepare detailed network plans to be made accessible online in a unified GIS (digital geographic information system) format. Industry stakeholders will be invited to share their forecasts and plans anonymously in so-called “cleanroom” formats. These results will improve the existing projections and foresighted grid development.
To promote the integrated planning of charging infrastructure, the German National Centre for Charging Infrastructure provides stakeholders with three different publicly available tools. Firstly, the Standorttool which indicates the currently installed CPs, the planned CPs and the forecasted future demand. Secondly, the Flächentool, which allows CPOs to identify potential sites for projects. Finally, the Ladelerntool, which aims at increasing the know-how on charging infrastructure within municipalities.
In contrast to the Netherlands, Germany focuses on non-public charging points, such as private homes, for smart, bi-directional charging. It aims to improve the legal, technical, tax and economic framework conditions to remove any obstacles to the non-discriminatory use of bidirectional charging and the integration into the national grid. Southwest-German DSO NetzeBW also highlighted grid-serving charging management as key for avoiding grid bottlenecks while ensuring a high level of customer acceptance (e.g. Forecasting load peaks, Dynamic Charging Management (smart charging)).
Currently, road freight transport relies on diesel engines. Light and heavy-duty vehicles are responsible for roughly 35 % of EU transport GHG emissions. In addition, vehicles heavier than 40t account for nearly half the emissions from freight. The ambitious European CO2 emission standards for new heavy-duty vehicles will increase the need for more low carbon freight vehicles. Battery-powered electric trucks, catenary electric trucks and fuel cell electric trucks are technologies that can step in to fill the gap. The delegation focussed their exchanges on the first two of the aforementioned technologies.
Battery-powered electric trucks, require a demand-oriented charging network and sufficient coverage to allow successful mainstreaming and planning security. For long distance trips, Electric lorries will require specific charging infrastructure that allows much higher charging power, than what is required by high power charging for electric personal vehicles.
The expansion of the charging network for freight vehicles in Germany follows the Dutch example. The manufacturers are requested to develop standards for all essential steps along the truck charging process by the end of 2023. The initial charging network will be tendered and will be expanded at a later stage. Meanwhile, the agencies responsible for charging networks and motorways design sample layouts for the arrangement of charging points, parking spaces and transformers at the charging infrastructure locations at rest areas of motorways.
Catenary electric trucks are being piloted in several small test tracks on the German motorways. The VDI/VDE IT presented one of the projects currently being tested in northern Germany, the eHighway Schleswig-Holstein. In these pilot projects several tracks of 5 km are being equipped with overhead powerlines which the catenary electric truck can connect to via a pantograph. This allows a reduction of the size of the batteries and of the demand for truck charging infrastructure along the highways.
Conclusions
The delegations from Vietnam and India could draw individual conclusions from numerous talks and site visits to Europe’s most successful countries in charging network development. They may have identified the following key factors:
Delegation visits included Amsterdam City Hall, the Dutch Ministry for Infrastructure and Water Management (with the kind support of the Netherlands Embassy in Hanoi), ElaadNL (EV charging knowledge and innovation centre), the German National Centre for Charging Infrastructure (department of BMDV), VDI/VDE IT (knowledge and innovation centre), NetzeBW (distribution grid operator) and EnBW (charge point operator and emobility provider). We thank all hosts for their hospitality.
In September, two study tours, as part of the NDC Transport Initiative for Asia (NDC-TIA), explored decarbonization policies, pathways and good practices within the transport sector across Netherlands and Germany. NDC-TIA is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) supports this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag. It supports China, India, and Viet Nam as well as regional and global decarbonisation strategies to increase the ambition around low-carbon transport.
On November 17, 2022, it is Solutions Day at the climate conference COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. While in multilateral negotiations, countries continue to discuss how to ramp-up climate finance and compensate the most vulnerable countries for irreversible damage, the transport community committed to solutions for the sector. Various new initiatives on how to accelerate implementation collaboratively were presented. So even though there was no dedicated transport day, nor a transport pavilion, it felt like transport was everywhere today.
At 12:30 pm local time the Egyptian COP Presidency launched its Low Carbon Transport for Urban Sustainability (LᶜO₂TUS) initiative aiming at decarbonising urban transport systems worldwide and especially in the Global South. As Egypt’s Minister of Transport Kamel al-Wazir put it:
Last year at COP26 we saw a lot of commitments on Electric Mobility. Developing countries need sustainable mobility solutions to improve access and limit emissions. This is why Egypt decided to work the LOTUS initiative at COP27.
This is remarkable, because it is the first time that sustainable mobility, incl. AVOID or reduce distances, SHIFT to efficient modes and IMPROVE vehicle technologies, has been put up prominently on the agenda of a COP Presidency and in this way got increased attention. Furthermore, it directly links to the SDGs and establishes a link between the two global agendas. Last but not least, the initiative puts financing on the agenda.
However, it remains to be seen how this initiative will be implemented. While according to the official description a number of non-state actor organizations want to engage, no parties – UNFCCC jargon for country governments – have formally joint so far. The presidency still has a lot of work to do in the coming months.
How commitments can be extended and maintained was demonstrated later at 3:00 pm. Building off the Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEV) Declaration of the British COP26 presidency, this year the Accelerate to Zero (A2Z) Coalition was launched at the UK pavilion. By providing a platform for leading initiatives the A2Z Coalition works towards all sales of new cars and vans being zero emission no later than 2035 in leading markets and 2040 globally. It includes a campaign website that provides more details.
This was complemented by the UK-USA-co-chaired Zero Emission Vehicles Transition Council (ZEVTC) will launch its new yearly Action Plan, setting out its priorities for 2023. Among those priorities is a global commitment – signed by the US, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Sweden and the UK – outlining collective ambition to mobilise more assistance and align existing funds to support ZEV transitions in emerging and developingcountries this decade. For Germany, the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is engaging through global and bi-lateral funding prorammes.
Two more specific elements are remarkable as it shows how a presidency intitiative can evolve: Firstly, a scalable ZEV Rapid Response Facility (ZEV-RRF) addresses short-term, urgent technical assistance needs of Global South governments. It aims at helping to unlock larger scale projects and funding for their ZEV transition. Secondly, the US who launched the Zero Emission Vehicles Emerging Market Campaign (ZEV-EM-C), a one-year campaign that seeks to accelerate zero-emission passenger vehicle deployment in emerging markets. For both approaches not much information is available to date but certainly will be presented soon.
Freight remains a blind spot of transport decarbonization. However, new country signatories signed the Global Memorandum of Understanding on Zero-Emission Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles, including the USA, several European countries and a number of small island states. The MOU aligns leading countries on the same level of ambition for zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (ZE-MHDVs). Country signatories strive towards a non-binding target of 30% of newly sold MHDVs being zero emission by 2030, and 100% by 2040.
An important mode for (international) freight is martime transport and it decarbonization is crucial. Hence it was good to see that the shipping stakeholders are actively looking for solutions.
Following the Clydebank Declaration for green shipping corridors created at COP26, green shipping corridors are increasingly considered an important approach for shipping’s transition towards zero emissions. So on Nov 17th, the 2022 Annual Progress Report was published. In addition, the Zero-Emission Shipping Mission that aims to demonstrate commercially viable zero-emission ships by 2030 will present its Green Shipping Corridor Hub, an online tool that shows announced green shipping corridors worldwide, a map for matchmaking between interested partners in the development of such corridors as well as a library of available info material on the topic. In addition, the Green Shipping Challenge was launched by the United States Department of States and the Government of Norway.
Last year’s initiatives have proven influential pieces of the puzzle that is decarbonizing transport. They perform better than some commentors have predicted. It seems they remain important for increasing ambition in transport. We’ll stay curious to see how the LOTUS initiative evolves and if the dynamic of the EV initiatives can be expanded beyond vehicle technology and electrification. In order to limit the additional need for renewable electricity from electric vehicles, increasing motorization and travel demand (distances) is a challenge that endangers the 1.5 degree target.
The urban mobility initiatives TUMI (focusing on capacity building, access to finance and electric buses) and MobiliseYourCity (focusing on sustainable urban mobility planning), which are co-funded by Germany and where GIZ is involved in, will continue to work on this challenge. The GIZ transport team was present in Sharm el-Sheikh through the IKI-funded TRANSfer programme and on behalf of the German Ministry for the Economy, and Climate Action (BMWK).
Many of COP27’s launches and reveals are built on declarations generated at last year’s COP26 in Glasgow. But this is not all that came from those initiatives. Two weeks ago, GIZ colleague Friedel Sehlleier looked at where these initiatives stand and what they have in store for the future. Click here to read more: https://changing-transport.org/still-alive-an-update-on-the-cop26-initiatives-for-transport-decarbonization/
While the benefits of cycling are widely acknowledged, from decreased congestion and improved air quality to the obvious health benefits of exercise, it has not yet become the primary mode of daily transport in most major cities. Discussions surrounding decarbonisation of transport have long emphasised the importance of e-mobility, yet cycling is an often-overlooked component of sustainable and inclusive transport systems. A city which prioritises its pedestrians and cyclists over its road vehicles is therefore a concept best experienced first-hand, as inspiration for what can be achieved by promoting and integrating active mobility policies.
1. Inspiration in Amsterdam: Demand from citizens
Two study tour delegations, featuring decision-makers from Vietnam and India on a mission to decarbonise their transport systems, witnessed the potential of cycling cities up close in September. The tours appropriately began in one of the world’s leading cycling cities: Amsterdam.
The Urban Cycling Institute (UCI) led the NITI Aayog delegation on an excursion, which focussed on the design of bike paths. By visiting key sites in person, the group encountered emerging best practices of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, exploring the choice of different innovations in varying street contexts. To better grasp the extent of the cycling culture in Amsterdam, the tour elaborated on the city-implemented measures, such as dedicated public parking zones for cycles, short-term rentals of cycles, and restricting vehicles to drive only through the periphery of the city.
Perhaps the greatest source of inspiration was understanding that, although the city currently has more bikes than people, and well over 60% of citizens cycle on a daily basis, this was not always the case. In fact, the proportion of bicycle trips in Amsterdam fell from 80% to below 25% between the 1950s and 70s, increasing car traffic, and ultimately resulting in a drastic rise of traffic death rates. The 1970s were thus a crucial time for activism and bicycle demonstrations in the Netherlands, when citizens pushed for the prioritisation of bicycles over cars. “One of the biggest victories was managing to fend off a planned highway through the city centre,” explained Trey Hahn, of the UCI and Bicycle User Experience (BUX). Now, in Amsterdam alone, there are close to 770 kilometres of cycle lanes. The delegation was impressed by the amount of modern cycling infrastructure available to the citizens of Amsterdam and inspired to take action at home.
Yet, there remain challenges in the shift to active mobility. In Amsterdam, the high cycling density can pose challenges for pedestrians as walkable passages are limited, particularly through the clutter of parked cycles, or are made unsafe by the potential of crashes. The movement of differently abled groups, who cycling infrastructure do not yet take into adequate consideration, is especially restricted in streets which are given over to cycles. With the development and diffusion of e-bikes, moreover, traffic safety has once again become a concern, as cycling lanes are increasingly occupied by higher-speed, motorised e-bikes.
2. Integrated planning: Germany’s Roadmap to becoming a Cycling Nation
The Netherlands, and Amsterdam in particular, represent a model cycling culture and city in several national cycling strategies across Europe, as the NITI Aayog delegation discovered on the next stop in the study tour. In Berlin, the delegation met with Velokonzept, a leading German agency for cycling innovation, to discuss the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport’s (BMDV) mobility transition roadmap.
In the ranking of the most bicycle-friendly cities of 2019, the Copenhagenize Index included three German cities in the top 20: Berlin, Hamburg, and Bremen. Yet, while in the Netherlands 27% of all trips are made by bike, Germany’s share accounts for only 11%. To promote the use of cycling as a primary mode of transport, the German Federal Government adopted the National Cycling Plan 3.0 in 2021 (Nationaler Radverkehrsplan 3.0, NRVP). The plan references the Netherlands as a model country which has set the standards for both the potential of regular bicycle usage and Germany’s cycling targets.
With the overarching vision of becoming a cycling nation by 2030, the guiding objectives of the NRVP are to
By following the example of Dutch cities, investing in cycling infrastructure, and promoting a fundamental paradigm shift, cities can take active steps towards becoming bicycle friendly.
3. Considerations for the future: How India could establish a cycling culture
Similarly to the Netherlands, cycling is considered a significant as well as traditional mode of mobility in India. Yet this has tendentially been limited to those who cannot afford other forms of transport, and primarily among the rural population. And while there are an estimated 23 million bicycles in the Netherlands for a population of 17 million, India has only 90 bicycles per 1,000 inhabitants.
The need for increased cycling and the relevant infrastructure in India is plain: not only do road accidents cause the most annual deaths in India, but air pollution was linked to 1.67 million deaths in 2019. The impressions gathered during the study tour in Germany and the Netherlands revealed numerous measures to support the development of bicycle infrastructure in India:
This understanding was the inspiration for the creation of the Bicycle Mayor Network, a network of representative community members who collaborate to brin this issue to light and accelerate cycling change. Bicycle Mayors are present in over 40 cities across India, representing the largest network in the international programme. Such independent, community-driven networks offer amazing potential to tackle India’s issues of congestion and pollution, and to encourage cycling in all parts of society.
In September, two study tours, as part of the NDC Transport Initiative for Asia (NDC-TIA), explored decarbonization policies, pathways and good practices within the transport sector across Netherlands and Germany. NDC-TIA is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) supports this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag. It supports China, India, and Viet Nam as well as regional and global decarbonisation strategies to increase the ambition around low-carbon transport.
From 6 to 18 November the global community is convening at the COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. As a major driver of global climate change, the transport sector is naturally on the agenda at COP27. At the same time, the climate negotiations in Egypt are being touted as an “African COP”, as they will spotlight the needs of African countries and their position in the global climate crisis.
The African transport community is well prepared for Egypt. Just one month ago, some 1000 practitioners and experts met for the Sustainable Mobility and Climate Week in Dakar, Senegal. Organised by CODATU, CETUD and Climate Chance, the event was described as a “pre-COP” for transport in Africa. Given the conference location and organisers, a focus was placed on French-speaking Africa. However, interpretators enabled the participation of several English-speaking experts and organisations in the discussions.
The topics addressed during the week were manifold, yet focused on those issues that are most pressing for mobility in African countries, including informal transport, city planning, support for active mobility, the financing of transport infrastructure, the effective use of data, and resilience and adaptation to climate change through nature-based solutions, including a “Great Green Wall” for biodiversity in Africa.
The Dakar Declaration, which was presented at the close of the conference, sums up important aspects of these discussions, which featured African local and regional authorities as well as non-state actors. The declaration highlights issues sure to inform the COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh.
With the aim of achieving synergies with previous conferences and declarations while also advancing the above goals, the Dakar Declaration draws attention to 12 action areas:
Representatives from civil society organisations, multinational development banks, and international agencies engaged in fruitful exchange during the conference sessions and workshops. In addition, the MobiliseYourCity Partnership and the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative brought together representatives from their African member and partner cities.
On the final conference day, more than 20 cities participated in a discussion round titled “World Café – Bringing African Voices to COP27”, which addressed how international institutions can support decarbonisation and climate resilience in their cities. Many aspects of the Dakar Declaration reflected concerns that emerged from this discussion, including:
The Dakar conference generated a number of clear messages and insights. Furthermore, the urgency of the climate crisis is particularly evident in Africa given its already significant impacts. The extent to which the Dakar conference shapes the proceedings in Sharm el-Sheikh remains to be seen, however. If you are interested in the conference’s outcomes, be sure to follow the SLOCAT Summary of Transport Community Engagement at COP27. The webpage additionally profiles SLOCAT activities that focus on the African context. Make sure to listen-in for the Slocat Transport Day on November 15th, taking place at the Multilevel Action Pavillion. The programme will include the screening of short statement videos from city representatives who engaged in the World Café discussion in Dakar.
The Advancing Transport Climate Strategies (TraCS) project supported the World Café session organised by MobiliseYourCity in Dakar and was present throughout the conference. TraCS is implemented by GIZ and funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUV).
COP27 under the UNFCCC will be held between November 6 and November 18, 2022. As in previous years, the GIZ Transport Team is co-organizing and participating in many other panels, receptions and offsite side-events, joining forces with partners from relevant sectors to present sustainable transport as a holistic, cross-cutting solution. Read below for an overview of GIZ Transport’s presence at COP27.
November 8 | 5:00 – 6:00 pm (UTC+2)
Venue: UNFCCC PCCB Pavilion, Capacity Building Hub (Area B, room 12)
Organised by: GIZ and UNFCCC
GIZ focal point: Nadja Taeger
Event details: Joint panel event by TraCS and UNFCCC on transport, climate ambition and transparency.
For online participation: Join here.
Watch the event recording.
November 9 | 4:45 – 6:15 pm (UTC+2)
Venue: UNFCCC Pavilion, Tutankhamun (Area C, room 9)
Organised by: UNFCCC, with GIZ as guest speaker
GIZ focal point: Nadja Taeger
Event details: Panel event, highlighting financial, technical and capacity-building support opportunities available to developing country Parties for enhancing climate action progress and report capacities under the Convention and the Enhanced Transparency Framework under the Paris Agreement.
For online participation: Join here.
November 10 | 3:30 – 4:30 pm (UTC+2)
Venue: NDC Partnership Pavilion (Area C, room 5)
Organised by: Ministries of Transport of Uganda, Kenya, and Morocco, with GIZ
GIZ focal point: Nadja Taeger
Event details: Side event, in which African countries will present their strategies for abating emissions despite increasing demand for transportation systems.
Watch the event recording.
November 11 | 4:00 – 5:00 pm (UTC+2)
Venue: Climate Compatible Growth Pavilion
Organised by: CCG, HVT, SUM4ALL
GIZ focal point: Marvin Stolz
Further information: via COP27 Side Events
Watch the event recording.
November 11 | 5:15 – 6:30 pm (UTC+2)
Venue: Climate Compatible Growth Pavilion
Organised by: GIZ
GIZ focal point: Friedel Sehlleier
Event details: Side event, exploring insights from TRANSfer, the MobiliseYourCity Partnership, and more.
Further information: via COP27 Side Events
Watch the event recording.
November 11 | 6:30 pm (UTC+2)
Venue: Climate Compatible Growth Pavilion
Organised by: GIZ
GIZ focal point: Friedel Sehlleier
Event details: Side event, on international dialogue on climate finance, as well as to celebrate conclusion of TRANSfer III.
November 15 | 9:00 – 12:00 am (UTC+2)
Venue: Multilevel Action Pavilion
Organised by: SLOCAT, moderated and sponsored by TUMI/BMZ
GIZ focal point: Jens Giersdorf
Agenda and event details: here | For online participation: Register and join here.
Watch the event recording.
November 16 | 12:30 – 1:30 pm (UTC+2)
Venue: Islamic Development Bank Pavilion
Organised by: SLOCAT / IsDB
GIZ focal point: Urda Eichhorst, with Daniel Bongardt as a panelist
Event details and online participation: here.
Watch the event recording.
November 17 | 3:00 – 5:00 pm (UTC+2)
Venue: India Pavillion
Organised by: NITI Aayog and World Economic Forum
GIZ focal point: Urda Eichhorst
Event agenda: here | Online participation: here.
Watch the event recording.
November 17 | 4:00 – 5:00 PM (UTC+2)
Venue: Hall A (Green Zone)
Organised by: Ministry of Transportation (Egypt)
GIZ focal point: Marvin Stolz with Mike Enskat as speaker.
Registration (in-person only) and Green Zone agenda: here.
November 17 | 5:00 – 6:00 pm (UTC+2)
Venue: NDC Partnership Pavillion
Organised by: ESCAP
GIZ focal point: Urda Eichhorst
Event details and online participation: here.
Watch the event recording.
November 17 | 5:30 – 6:45 pm (UTC+2)
Venue: Brazil Hub
GIZ focal point: Eleonore Francois-Jacobs
Event details: MobiliseYourCity Partnership participating as speaker.
Event details and registration: here.
November 17 | 5:30 – 6:30 pm (UTC+2)
Venue: EU Pavillion
Organised by: DG MOVE / INTPA / NEAR, MobiliseYourCity Partnership & Euroclima+
GIZ focal point: Mateo Gomez and Victor Valente
Agenda, event details, registration and online access: here.
(1) The SLOCAT Transport Day on November 15 will be a key event for the sector, aiming to enhance the transport community’s engagement with the COP27 Presidency and Egyptian High-Level Climate Action Champion. As a partner in the SLOCAT Task Force on Transport Community Engagement in the UNFCCC, GIZ will support the Transport Day to promote critical thematic elements, such as the scale up of public transport, global supply chains, and African and Global South transport perspectives. SLOCAT’s full compilation of transport-focused and -related events at COP27 can be found here.
(2) Egypt’s Presidency has set November 17th as the dedicated Solutions Day, in which Sustainable Transport and Urban Mobility occupy the fourth slot. The session will highlight innovation and resilience as pathways towards green transport, particularly in support of low-carbon, affordable transport in Africa and the Global South. The Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action will also hold dedicated transport sessions, including the Implementation Lab on ‘Engineering the vision for climate resilient transport’ on November 17, 2022.
This article is part of our #StoriesofChange where we profile the work of our partner countries in developing climate actions in transport. Read more #StoriesOfChange and follow the Hashtag on Twitter.
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it”, the British physicist Lord Kelvin (1824–1907) famously wrote. The same goes for climate action in the transport sector. Without quantifying emissions in the sector, how can we reduce them? In line with this insight, a group of government officials from the Dominican Republic embarked on a process to learn more about the techniques of emissions accounting in the transport sector.
In ten interactive working sessions facilitated by the experts at Hill, a Colombian think tank, the group studied how to quantify emissions, compile GHG data and make projections for the future while using the open-source tool MobiliseYourCity Emissions Calculator. In parallel, the team of experts from Colombia and the Dominican Republic collected and analysed the relevant data from the Dominican Republic to calculate a GHG inventory and develop scenarios for the Dominican transport sector. Let’s have a look at the methodology and the results.
The analysis focused on land-based transport modes, and thus excluded maritime and air travel. This was done for two reasons: 1) land transport accounts for the largest share of transport emissions; and 2) international air and maritime transport are not accounted for in national GHG inventories. While this approach leaves out important sources of transport emissions in the accounting, it is considered best practice today.
A greenhouse gas inventory is the sum of all emissions of a sector for a certain year. For transport there are two ways of compiling a GHG inventory. The fastest and easiest method is a “top-down” approach. This method calculates the emissions based on fuel statistics, i.e. the amount of diesel, gasoline, natural gas and electricity sold during the year. The “bottom-up methodology”, by contrast, calculates the emissions based on the activity (vehicle kilometres, say) performed by the fleets of private cars, trucks, trains, buses, etc. in a given country. The results of the bottom-up method are then compared with the top-down calculation (fuel statistics) to ensure consistency.
The bottom-up method is more complex and needs large amounts of disaggregated data, e.g. information on the different fleets and average km/year, but it provides a much more detailed understanding of the GHGs emitted by each subsector and type of vehicle (e.g. rail vs. road transport, cars vs. motorbikes). Identifying the largest sources of emissions and understanding the share of each subsector in the total GHG inventory is extremely important if governments are to prioritise measures and maximise the climate impact.
According to the bottom-up calculation, the land transport sector in the Dominican Republic was responsible for 7,757 gigagrams of CO2e in 2018, with passenger transport representing more than half of the total (4,716 gg CO2e). There is little surprise that private cars account for the largest share of emissions (42%), followed by light commercial vehicles (34%). Public buses, minibuses, taxis and mototaxis together account for only 14%.
After assessing the emissions for 2018, the base year, the team proceeded with the second step: forecasting the development of emissions up to 2030 and 2050. This was done in the form of two scenarios. A scenario is a “picture” of a possible future state based on a series of assumptions. It should not be taken as an exact prediction of the future but as a possibility among other possible states. Formulating adequate assumptions is crucial for producing good results.
In the case of the Dominican Republic, two scenarios were developed. One scenario, called Business as Usual, assumed that no particular climate actions were taken in the transport sector. The scenario only considers trends and evolutions that happen independently of political action, such as efficiency gains due to technological improvements. The second scenario, known as the climate scenario, assumed that the Dominican Republic implements all its transport related-climate commitments formulated in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The scenario considered nine measures and policies:
| N° | NDC measure |
| 1 | New metro lines in Santo Domingo |
| 2 | New cable car line |
| 3 | Implementation of a BRT system in major cities (Santo Domingo and Santiago de los Caballeros) |
| 4 | Substitution of 300 diesel buses by electric buses |
| 5 | Development and implementation of a policy to modernise taxis and minibus taxis |
| 6 | Design and implementation of a network of feeder buses running on natural gas |
| 7 | Provision of a safe transport service to schools using electric buses |
| 8 | Creation of a framework to modernise the fleet of private vehicles |
| 9 | Promotion of bicycle use and creation of cycling infrastructure in major cities |
Drawing on expert discussions and existing empirical studies, the expert team developed assumptions about the implementation and the effects of each measure as well as the underlying general tendencies in the country’s transport demand. For instance, they estimated how many car trips would be replaced by a new metro or cable car line and how many emissions could be avoided. All the information went into a projection of emissions with and without NDC climate measures.
As the Dominican NDC considers only measures in the field of passenger transport, it makes sense to focus on the development of passenger transport emissions to assess the effects of the climate measures. In both scenarios, unfortunately, transport emissions in the Dominican Republic continue to grow. If all NDC measures are implemented, however, passenger transport emissions can be reduced by 4.8% by 2030.
The scenarios show that NDC actions do make a difference in terms of CO2, provided that they are progressively implemented. However, the impact of Dominican climate action in transport could be substantially larger if they were extended to freight – for example, through the electrification of light commercial vehicles – and if modal shift measures were accompanied by traffic-demand management. Read the full report in Spanish.
Increasing climate ambition in transport is on the agenda of the Dominican Republic, and the results of the inventory and the scenario development, will provide empirical guidance for the country’s decision making. Thanks to the participatory process, a network of people and capacities was brought together to steer the process after the project is over. We are looking forward to hearing good news on transport climate action from the Dominican Republic in the future!
What is necessary to reach net zero emissions in the transport sector on a global level? To keep limiting global warming to 1.5° C within reach, the world has to decarbonise by mid-century, with every sector contributing as much as possible as soon as possible. The Wuppertal Paper no. 199 identifies what has to be done in road transport, aviation, and shipping to achieve net zero emission in the transport sector.
For this purpose, the paper first sets the scene by providing an overview of the origins and impacts of the concept of net zero emissions in international climate policy as well as of the current state and future prospects of global transport emissions using currently available scenarios for low-emission and net zero transport.
While for staying below 1.5° C, the basic approach to reducing transport emissions remains unchanged from what has been suggested in the past, the set, intensity and pace of actions as to shift fundamentally. Without first drastically reducing traffic volume and shifting transport demand to low-emission modes, reaching net zero transport will not be feasible: the amount of additional electricity required to fully electrify the sector with renewable energy is otherwise just too huge.
After portraying key instruments for achieving net zero emissions in land transport, aviation, and shipping, the paper identifies key barriers for net zero transport. Based on this analysis, the authors recommend the following to be able to move transport to net zero:
Read the full paper: Wuppertal Paper no. 199
by Hanna Wang-Helmreich, Wolfgang Obergassel and Oliver Lah