Press Release: New Global Roadmap of Action to guide the future of mobility

With growing urbanization, increasing world trade and new technologies, the global mobility system is stressed. More than 1 billion people, or one-third of the global rural population, lacks access to all-weather roads and transport services – a major barrier to social and economic advancement. The GRA will help tackle this urgency by taking a holistic approach of sustainability and offering concrete policy solutions countries can adapt and adopt to achieve sustainable mobility. As a tool, the GRA helps countries identify gaps, crucial steps, and appropriate policies to ensure that transport contributes to attain the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and improve the sustainability of their transport system.

According to the GRA, globally, one billion more people would be connected to education, health and jobs if we close the transport access gap in rural areas; improvements in border administration, transport and communication infrastructure could increase global GDP by up to US$2.6 trillion; and an additional 1.6 billion people would breathe cleaner air if transport pollution was halved.

“The current mobility system takes a heavy toll on our planet and leaves many people behind. In most cases, it is also expensive, inefficient, and unsafe. The GRA is the first comprehensive effort to look across the four policy goals of accessibility, efficiency, safety, and green mobility for all modes of transport with a focus on action. It serves as an important tool for policymakers to act now and turn the vision of sustainable transport into a reality,” said Nancy Vandycke, Program Manager of SuM4All and World Bank Lead Economist.

“At Michelin, we believe mobility is a key factor of human progress. But we also know that transport is a major contributor to CO2 emissions. The challenge is to achieve more mobility, for more people, with less impact. In this sense, the GRA is a real milestone. It is an operational toolbox that will help States and cities improve the sustainability of their own transport sector. As a member of the Sum4All steering committee, Michelin is proud to support this great, action-focused initiative,” said Florent Menegaux, CEO of Michelin.

“Safe, efficient, low carbon and accessible mobility is essential to sustainable human development policies. The Global Roadmap for Action is a new go-to resource enabling countries and decision makers to define sustainable mobility pathways,” said SLoCaT Partnership’s Secretary General, Maruxa Cardama.

According to Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary, UNECE, “The United Nations inland transport conventions administered by UNECE provide a harmonized legal and regulatory framework for the development of sustainable transport systems worldwide. They enable the efficient and safe mobility of people and goods, and boost economic development by enhancing connectivity and saving significant time and costs for cross-border trade. These unique tools, coupled with binding air pollution reduction commitments under UNECE’s Air Convention, also help to integrate air quality and climate action at the heart of sustainable mobility.”

“With the GRA we have finally and for the first time a clear vision that can be translated into immediate action. We look forward to working with countries and industry on a new and impactful pipeline of projects,” said Susanna Zammataro, Director General, International Road Federation (IRF).”

“Without sustainable mobility, it is impossible to realistically aspire to safer, cleaner and more equitable societies across the world now, and for our future generations,” said Sheila Watson, Deputy Director of the FIA Foundation and Co-Chair of the gender chapter of the GRA. “The Global Roadmap of Action toward Sustainable Mobility offers an opportunity to benchmark individual countries’ progress towards mobility and set out the actions need to develop more efficient policies and targeted action. The FIA Foundation is proud to support the launch of this important and comprehensive report and the work of SUM4ALL going forward.”

“Alongside our global membership, UITP actively works on advancing public transport to help make our cities more sustainable. The Global Roadmap of Action Toward Sustainable Mobility is an ambitious and impressive effort to identify the most relevant and impactful policy measures to advance the sector and decarbonise transport. UITP was proud to co-lead the urban access pillar of the GRA and we’re pleased to join other players in accelerating progress. Lasting change can only be achieved through collaboration and we invite all actors to join this effort,” said Mohamed Mezghani, Secretary General of UITP.

“We need cleaner, safer and more efficient transport systems in order to increase productivity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In this context, the Sum4All initiative brings together all voices, and helps strengthening our capacities to work hand in hand with national and local governments to create more opportunities for future generations”, said Luis Carranza, CAF Executive President.

“Global challenges call for global solutions and making freight transportation sustainable is no exception. Multilateral approaches underpinned by a shared vision, a sense of community and multi-stakeholder collaboration, are the ultimate safeguard against impractical solutions that distort the playing field while leaving behind the most vulnerable and the weakest. Achieving freight transportation systems that are truly economically efficient, environmentally sound and socially inclusive would otherwise be impossible,” said Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD.

The GRA report is the outcome of more than 18 months of work by 55 influential organizations, 180 experts, and consultations with 50 public decision makers and 25 private corporations. SuM4All is an umbrella platform supported by 55 public and private organizations with a shared ambition to transform the future of mobility.

For more information, please visit http://www.sum4all.org/GRA and http://www.sum4all.org/online-tool or contact WBG – World Bank Alejandra Gutierrez: agutierrez2@worldbankgroup.org