Climate Action 2011-2012
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that support sustainable transport and report on their own<br />
progress and performance. The Asian Development Bank<br />
and Inter-American Development Bank have recently<br />
adopted sustainable transport initiatives, with goals of<br />
spending less on motorway construction and much more<br />
on urban transport. They, the World Bank and other aid<br />
agencies should direct their technical assistance to develop<br />
capacities, institutions and knowledge, as well as aligning<br />
their lending criteria with sustainability objectives, with<br />
more transparency and reporting. There is an urgency<br />
to create partnerships that will shift the balance towards<br />
allocating existing resources in a sustainable way, add<br />
increased funding for areas where resources are currently<br />
lacking, and pay for the full cost of transport, including<br />
environmental depreciation.<br />
The role oF naTional governmenTs<br />
National governments can play a big role in incentivising<br />
low carbon transport by shifting domestic budgets towards<br />
sustainable investment. National infrastructure investment<br />
funds, such as India’s National Urban Renewal Mission and<br />
Mexico’s National Mass Transit Program (PROTRAM),<br />
have the potential to improve the efficiency of the transport<br />
sector and steer it towards a lower-carbon development<br />
path. Developed countries can shape how their international<br />
support for transport is provided to developing countries.<br />
All governments can collect data and adopt sustainable<br />
transport goals, with monitoring and reporting on<br />
performance. They should be open to creative models for<br />
project finance such as public-private partnerships. Equally<br />
important is applying appropriate pricing and taxation<br />
for motor fuel, discontinuing subsidies to unsustainable<br />
projects and fossil fuels.<br />
National governments should support their city leaders<br />
that control land use and much transport investment and<br />
operations. Popular mayors in developing country cities such<br />
as Curitiba, Brazil, Bogota, Colombia or Guangzhou, China,<br />
have been at the forefront of innovative urban development.<br />
The boxes on bus rapid transit and bike sharing expand<br />
on two examples of how a city can help shape urban<br />
development in ways that sustain economic growth, improve<br />
mobility for its citizens and reduce GHG emissions.<br />
a neW susTainabiliTy<br />
As the world opens a new round of UNFCCC negotiations<br />
in Durban and tries to renew its commitment to tackle<br />
climate change in united way, it is important to raise the<br />
profile of land transport strategies to a more important<br />
place. As discussed in this article it is possible to pass from<br />
an unmanaged motorisation, in the form of subsidies for<br />
motor fuel, expansion of high speed roads and disorganised<br />
sprawl that do not take into consideration cyclists,<br />
pedestrians and public transport, to a new paradigm of<br />
sustainability, focusing on improving public transport such<br />
as bus rapid transit, public transport oriented development,<br />
improved freight logistics and intermodal systems, more<br />
equitable access, and road space management and design<br />
© Ramiro Rios, ITDP<br />
BRT systems are in place in hundreds of cities.<br />
bus rapid TransiT<br />
More than a hundred cities have developed cost-effective<br />
bus rapid transit (BRT) systems as an alternative to<br />
more expensive metro and rail infrastructure in order to<br />
provide mass transit options at comparable speed and<br />
capacities. According to ITDP, on average, BRT systems<br />
can be built in a fraction of the time of light rail, cost 30<br />
times less to construct and three times less to operate.<br />
The Transmilenio system in Bogota has been registered<br />
as a Clean Development Mechanism project that reduces<br />
almost 250,000 tonnes of carbon per year. Mexico City<br />
already counts, with four BRT lines that move over<br />
700,000 passengers daily,<br />
and is planning 13 more lines across the city to move<br />
three million in the next five years.<br />
that favours pedestrians and cyclists. These are essential<br />
elements in a successful recipe for economic growth and<br />
environmental responsibility.<br />
Michael Replogle is Global Policy Director and Founder of ITDP.<br />
From 1992-2009, he was Transportation Director at the Environmental<br />
Defense Fund. In the past, he has been a consultant to the Asian<br />
Development Bank and UNEP, and an adviser to the US Department<br />
of Transportation, Singapore Land Transport Authority and the World<br />
Economic Forum, among others.<br />
Ramon Cruz is the <strong>Climate</strong> Policy Manager at ITDP. He was Vice<br />
President for Energy and Environment at the Partnership for New<br />
York City, a business group, and Senior Policy Analyst for the<br />
Environmental Defense Fund. He has been an adviser to the NYC<br />
government on energy and solid waste issues and helped develop<br />
the City’s sustainability plan.<br />
The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP)<br />
works with cities worldwide to bring about sustainable transport<br />
solutions that cut greenhouse gas emissions, reduce poverty, and<br />
improve the quality of urban life.<br />
ITDP Headquarters<br />
9 East 19th Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10003, USA<br />
Tel: +1 212 629 8001 | Fax: +1 646 380 2360<br />
Email: mobility@itdp.org | Web: www.itdp.org<br />
171 climateactionprogramme.org
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