Decarbonisation of urban mobility

Decarbonisation of urban transport will enable cities to mitigate the climate change impacts of urban mobility. It requires a set of measures that will significantly impact personal behaviour and living patterns. Effective greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction requires changes in how we live, particularly regarding the role of the private car. These changes will require political commitment, at least public acceptance, and have to be based on constant and decades-long dialogue with a broad range of stakeholders. Setbacks along the way are inevitable. Decarbonisation of urban mobility is one of the most challenging areas in the fight against climate change. While some progress has been achieved in many cities, the broader picture so far shows a steady increase in the absolute and relative GHG emissions from transport (including urban transport).

This guide aims to help planners and decision-makers responsible for tackling climate change and for developing transport plans, at all levels, to understand which measures to introduce within Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP) and the types of impact that are to be expected from those measures, to achieve the relevant GHG emissions reduction targets. It focuses on personal mobility.

This guide is based on the methodology of the general SUMP guidelines with a focus on climate change mitigation. Where necessary it refers to the general SUMP guidelines or relevant topic guides. It aims to be self-explanatory. The guide presents or refers to available state-of-the-art knowledge in this field.

Planning for mobility and decarbonisation towards climate neutrality is not always in harmony. The SUMP has to address a wider range of challenges and objectives, including social, economic and environmental objectives such as accessibility, traffic flow, congestion, noise, traffic safety, etc., and it would promote measures to enhance mobility services and provide for a wide range of mobility options. In contrast, decarbonisation requires a focus on transport measures packages that are effective and efficient to reduce GHG emissions. This guide takes the assumption that considered planning options along SUMP development should be aligned with climate objectives. A planning option (or package of measures) would need to be adapted accordingly, or they would need to be dropped and replaced by other means to coherently ensure all SUMP objectives.

The guide is developed for urban and regional mobility planners, or spatial planners who can influence the structure and morphology of cities and their functional urban areas. The guide will be of particular relevance for planners in larger cities and urban. The core information provided and the calculation schemes do on the other hand also apply to any urban agglomeration size. Beyond the relevant professionals in public administration, the guide also aims to provide valuable information to a wide range of interested stakeholder groups, including schools, universities, real estate developers and managers, public transport authorities and companies, commuters, civil society groups with a mission to reduce the carbon intensity of urban mobility and transport in general. Last but not least decisionmakers at all levels should benefit from the guide and be able to find relevant examples and understand the core elements in planning the decarbonisation of urban mobility.