Replanning our transport priorities
In the 1950s and 1960s, urban planners designed cities around cars. Brussels is a sad example of this: a beautiful city, torn by motorways cutting through neighborhoods. Belgium’s taxation policy over the last couple of decades has made the situation a whole lot worse. It is now more beneficial to live outside a city where […]
Particulate Matter (PM), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) and a range of hazardous hydrocarbons and other pollutants contribute significantly to the global air pollution crisis, which kills millions of people prematurely each year. The transport sector emits nearly a quarter of all energy-related greenhouse gases (GHG) with significant impacts on the global climate. With the Paris Agreement […]
According to the Analysis of Walking Potential by Transport for London (2017), one million daily motorised journeys could be walked in London in less than ten minutes. Congestion is a burden to European cities, on the economy, on people’s health and on the environment. One way of reducing congestion is – surprisingly for some? – introducing […]
Individual electric mobility – “green” and convenient On average, a typical trip is around 4 km long and takes 15 minutes, most of end-customers use the e-scooter sharing system to cover the last mile from public transport to their destination. Electric vehicles (EV) bring enormous advantages to urban dwellers: they run at very low noise levels and are environmentally-friendly, […]
Electric vehicles – small numbers but fast growth The transport sector is a key driver of economic development and welfare and, alongside the power sector, is the main global greenhouse gases (GHG) emitter, according to EUROSTAT. Contrary to the power sector, transport still relies heavily on fossil-derived fuels, mainly petroleum-based fuels. In the European Union […]
Decarbonizing transport is key to realizing the COP 21 climate goals. Pioneers around the world are developing innovative sustainable mobility solutions. They show that it is possible to move clean and safely in the air, on water and on land.
Europe is on the move and transport is changing. Indeed mobility solutions must evolve in order to better serve the public and the business community, and also to reduce its impact on the environment. Today, transport still relies on oil for 94% of its energy needs. If we do nothing, it will be the single […]
A worrying aspect of sustainability is that environmental ambitions often overshadow the social aspects. There is widespread acceptance that we must make more efforts to decarbonize transport – and that the way we pump fossil fuels into vehicles to move around is simply not sustainable. But the reality is that we cannot make transport sustainable […]
For several months now, not a week has gone by without news on autonomous vehicles or innovations in ride-selling or ride-sharing apps and other so-called ‘new mobility’ services. Digitalization has come to the transport sector and is paving the way for services that are breaking new ground – a development that would have been unimaginable […]
On the eve of the climate summit in Paris, mobility worries decision-makers because – contrary to other sectors – pollution emanating from modes of transport continues to climb around the world, representing today more than a quarter of total emissions. Automobile congestion and noxious pollutants are pervasive. And yet, solutions are now coming to market […]
Laxness and Independence “The tyranny of mankind; it was like the obstinate drip of water falling on a stone and hollowing it little by little; and this drip continued, falling obstinately, falling without pause on the souls of the children.” So go the words of one of Iceland’s finest literary figures, the Nobel laureate, Halldór Laxness. Published in two volumes in […]
