Issue 3/2010, June 2010

The potential for GHG mitigation in the land transport sector would be increased on an international level if there was a sectoral mechanism for transport. The Bridging the Gap initiative has developed a proposal for such a mechanism that could provide both financial and capacity building support. The proposal, which has been designed to complement existing mechanisms, comprises of both funding and crediting elements to stimulate mitigation activities in the land transport sector. It has been presented at two events in Bonn during the climate talks and is currently a'living document,' which is likely to evolve to take into account feedback received from international experts.

The Bridging the Gap initiative was present for the two weeks of climate talks that took place in Bonn from 31 May to 11 June. This was the second of four rounds of talks that have been scheduled to take place between COP15 and COP16. The Bridging the Gap partners attended this event where they had an exhibit and held a side event and workshop.

A Bridging the Gap workshop entitled'climate change and development in the transport sector: what do you need to achieve GHG mitigation from land transport' was held on Tuesday 8^th June. The workshop was hosted by GTZ in parallel to the UNFCCC climate change negotiations in Bonn and was attended by almost 80 policy makers, academics and consultants working both within and external to the transport sector.

On 4th June, 2010, the Bridging the Gap Initiative held a side event on the integration of land transport and climate policy. Dr. Fernando Tudela, the principal negotiator on climate change in Mexico, gave an input speech. In his opening words, he outlined Mexico's roadmap on climate change. Transport features quite strongly in Mexico's national strategy to reduce GHG emissions to 10% below 2000 levels by 2020. Transport is responsible for 20% of Mexican GHG emissions and its emissions are expected to double by 2015. One keystone in Mexico's climate change plan is the expansion of the railway system.

Carbon Expo, the world's largest carbon trade fair, took place in Cologne (Germany) from 26^th to 28^th May 2010. Caroline Edant from Veolia Transport gave a presentation on behalf of the Bridging the Gap initiative during the session "A city-wide approach to carbon finance" along with representatives of the World Bank, Suez Environnement, ICLEI and the city of Amman. Caroline Edant highlighted that Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA's) could be an opportunity to foster local mitigation actions in the transport sector in developing countries.

The 2010 ADB Transport Forum was held in Manila, Philippines. The focus of this year's Forum was the Bank's Sustainable Transport Initiative (STI) which is aimed at realigning the support provided by the Bank in four areas, namely urban transport, addressing climate change, cross-border transport and logistics and road safety/social sustainability.

Bridging the Gap partners were invited as speakers at different sessions: Heather Allen(UITP) spoke on "international experience in enhancing financial sustainability of public transport in developing countries" at an activity session on financial management. Michael Replogle (ITDP) gave a presentation titled "reorienting transport priorities to support access for all" during a session on social sustainability. Holger Dalkmann (TRL) spoke on "Economic policy instruments to promote sustainable, low carbon transport" and Manfred Breithaupt (GTZ) chaired and presented at a session on capacity building.

The City of Bremen and GTZ presented at three workshops at "The Future of Mobility - Options for Sustainable Transport in a Low Carbon Society" event at the Bremen Stand in the Urban Best Practice Area at the Shanghai Expo from May 24th to 26th, 2010. The workshops were about urban development, low carbon development and electric mobility and more than 80 participants attended the event. Participating experts and practitioners discussed a vision for sustainable urban mobility with a global perspective.

In 2010, transport was one of the five focus topics at the 18th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD 18). The CSD meets annually in two-year "Implementation Cycles," with each cycle focusing on one thematic cluster. Each cycle is comprised of a "Review Year" and a "Policy Year". CSD 18 thus conducted a review of barriers and constraints in implementation, as well as lessons learned and best practices. Delegates expressed general satisfaction with their discussions on transport, as this topic does not fall under other any other international bodies for policy coordination. CSD 19 will convene in May 2011 as the "Policy Year" for this thematic cluster, when delegates will negotiate policy recommendations based on CSD 18's review of the issues. CSD 18 also included a Partnerships Fair, Learning Center and many Side Events. UITP and the "Bridging the Gap Initiative" convened a Side Event on linking climate policy and sustainable transport. Furthermore, Daniel Bongardt presented on GTZ's "Approaches to Sustainable Transport" at a Side Event of the German Government on Wednesday May 12th.

This paper provides a brief overview of the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) submissions made by developing countries as of 4 February 2010. The current fluidity of the process for submitting NAMAs means that the website should be referred to for updates, although to date 25 countries have already submitted NAMA actions, and 35 developed countries have submitted national pledges to cut and limit greenhouse gases (GHGs) by 2020. These countries collectively account for more than 78% of global emissions from energy use.

• Download the full analysis (3 pages)
• Download the Update of May 2010

A drop in travel volumes in the wake of the global economic crisis has decreased Greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector in many countries. The long-term trend, however, continues to be towards an increase in CO₂ emissions from travel activity, according to a new report released by the International Transport Forum at the OECD for its annual global mobility summit on "Transport and Innovation" to be held in Leipzig, Germany, from May 26-28.

ITF has released a new report on CO2 in the transport sector, which says that global CO2 emissions from transport grew by 45% from 1990 to 2007. It concludes that from 2007 to 2030, transport emissions will continue to grow by approximately 40%. This is only slightly lower than pre-crisis estimates and already takes account of many planned efficiency improvements.

• See detailed country-by-country data here
• Download full report here

In Copenhagen, the COP requested the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) for further guidance relating to the clean development mechanism (CDM) and to recommend modalities and procedures for the development of standardised baselines. The Bridging the Gap initiative responded to the subsequent invitation to Parties and observer organisations to make submissions to the secretariat on their recommendations. Bridging the Gap's submission provides recommendations for methods of standardisation focussing on fuel efficiency standards in vehicle fleets to help improve the efficiency, applicability and environmental integrity of the CDM in the transport sector.

On June 8^th, the Partnership for Sustainable Low Carbon Transport launched the "SLoCaT Bonn Liaison Office" in Bonn during a reception. The Liaison Office will support networking of the partnership in Europe and the UN City of Bonn. It's a first step towards increasing activities of the partnership that are mainly carried out by the "Conveners' Office" in New York.

Ten of the world's leading architects show how integrating urban planning with transport can enable cities to thrive, while also combating climate change and managing population growth, in a global exhibition that kicks off in New York on June 24, 2010. Our Cities Ourselves: The Future of Transportation in Urban Life showcases the transformative potential of designing streets and cities around the needs of people rather than around the needs of private cars. Our Cities Ourselves illustrates how the dream of a sustainable, equitable and livable urban future can be realized when transport is a core foundation.

On 9th of June Asian Development Bank and Inter-American Development Bank hosted a side event on Sustainable Low Carbon Transport at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn.

Subsidizing fossil fuels seriously undermines ongoing efforts to deal with climate change - subsidies distort energy prices, encourage wasteful consumption, increase global greenhouse gas emissions and impede investment in renewable energy sources. Such subsidies particularly affect transportation investments and choices. But in September 2009, Pittsburgh, G-20 leaders committed to phasing out and rationalizing their inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that lead to wasteful consumption. On 26-27 June, 2010, leaders are set to meet again for the first time since making that commitment. The Global Subsidies Initiative of the International Institute for Sustainable Development has issued a policy brief summarizing what G-20 countries have done so far, and what else needs to be done to deliver on that commitment, including 3 recommended actions G-20 leaders should take in Toronto

The Institution for Transport Policy Studies (ITPS) is currently finalising a backcasting study on how to achieve a Global Transport System in a Low Carbon Society by the year 2050. This is the first of such studies conducted on a global scale, involving key experts from various world regions who have authored regional studies to inform the wider global study. The European Commission hosted a half day'open' workshop, where representatives from the study team discussed the study and its current findings. Holger Dalkmann of TRL presented the results of the European Regional Study, and highlighted the ways in which a drastic reduction of transport greenhouse gases can be achieved, combining both behavioural and technological changes. Ways in which the EU can also support mitigation actions in other parts of the world were also highlighted.

For the Soccer World Cup, the organizers are expecting thousands of fans from all over the world in Johannesburg. The thousands of visitors do not need to worry about getting to the two stadiums, Soccer City and Ellis Park, in the quickest, safest and most comfortable way as the new "Rea Vaya" Bus Rapid Transit system is now in operation.

4-6 July 2010, Stuttgart
Cities for Mobility World Congress 2010
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2 - 6 August 2010, Bonn
11th session of the AWG-LCA
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23-25 August 2010, Bangkok
Fifth Regional EST Forum in Asia
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4-8 October, Mexico City
5th International Conference on Sustainable Transport (ICST)
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9-11 November 2010, Singapore
Better Air Quality 2010
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15-19 November 2010, Hong Kong
UITP International conference on Public Transport Financing
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29 November - 10 December 2010, Cancún, Mexico
COP16
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Since COP14 in Poznan GTZ, ITDP, UITP, TRL and Veolia Transport aim to'bridge the gap' between the transport sector and the climate change negotiations process. The joint initiative is conducting a series of workshops and side events linked to the negotiation process in order to make a Post 2012 agreement work for the land transport sector and promote sustainable solutions for developing countries.

Our initiative's website www.transport2012.org provides an overview of our activities, publications, past events and information on related upcoming events.

To encourage international action to slow down CO2 emissions from the transport sector, several international organizations have decided to join forces for the recognition that transport can and should play in mitigating GHG emissions. This includes the Partnership on Sustainable Low Carbon Transport launched by the UNDESA, the Asian Development Bank and other international organizations.

Subscription:
Please visit our webpage:

• transport2012.org

Contact:
For further information, please contact Ms. Heather Allen (heather.allen@uitp.com), Mr Daniel Bongardt (daniel.bongardt@gtz.de), Mr Ramon Cruz (rcruz@itdp.org), Mr Holger Dalkmann (hdalkmann@trl.co.uk), Ms Caroline Edant (caroline.edant@veolia.com)

Partner Websites:

• GTZ and SUTP
• ITDP
• UITP
• TRL
  
• Veolia Transport