Investing in clean public transport, according to UNEP and UITP, is “one of the smartest” decisions to make in tackling climate change
As the world begins its recovery from the impact caused by COVID-19, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) call for the cooperation of relevant stakeholders to invest in clean, green and efficient public transport.
In their statement ‘Moving on from COVID-19 on the right track’, both organisations believed that implementing a clean, efficient and green public transport system could help limit pollution and carbon footprint, but most importantly tackle climate change.
“If we are to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius in line with our commitments to the Paris Agreement, we must cut global emissions by 7.6 percent every year of the next decade.
“Cleaner, more efficient public transport that works with the natural world, alongside walking and cycling, is a big part of realising the climate puzzle,” they elaborated in the statement released in conjunction with World Environment Day 2020.
Investing in clean public transport can cut down pollution, which ensures better health for more than 90 percent of the world’s population who are presently living in areas with dangerous levels of air pollution.
Such investment can also drive economic growth; according to UITP in the statement, “the economic benefits of public transport are five times higher than the money invested in it.”
Additionally, it can increase the number of green jobs linked to public transport services and supply chains that can help reduce emissions, save energy, lessen road fatalities, ease traffic congestion and improve human health.
“While COVID-19 is by no means a victory lap for environmentalists, it is also time for us to seize on those moments of cleaner air and make them a non-negotiable part of our future.
“We cannot look to a cityscape of more than two-thirds of the world’s population by 2050, without affordable, clean and green transport,” UNEP and UITP note in the statement.
