The transport sector is responsible for 20% of global carbon emissions yet is often overlooked when tackling climate change.
By Riccardo Puliti, Vice President for Infrastructure, World Bank
For World Economic Forum
Image: Unsplash/David Vives / Green transport options will play a vital role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
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Climate-smart transport options tend to be concentrated in the developed world, with low- and middle-income countries seeing a rise in emissions.
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The World Bank urges stakeholders to work together to promote green transport systems to mitigate the impacts of global warming.
No scenario for containing global warming is possible without urgent and distinct action in the transport sector. This is a sector that is often overlooked in the climate equation, but it shouldn’t be. Currently responsible for 20% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and rapidly increasing, transport is something that impacts everyone, everywhere.
The good news is that the tools needed to curb emissions from transport already exist. Some of them – such as enhanced public transport options, active mobility, zero-emission vehicles, and green fuels – are being implemented in many countries. Global sales of electric cars doubled between 2020 and 2021, reaching 6.6 million vehicles and accounting for nearly 9% of the global auto market.
Green transport concentrated in developed world
But the bad news is that climate-smart transport options are still too concentrated in the developed world. The shift is less tangible in developing and emerging countries.
Simultaneously, GHG emissions from transport in low- and middle-income countries have more than doubled since 2000 and are likely continuing to rise rapidly as motorization and the demand for increased mobility balloons.