Global action needed on transport

Limiting the environmental and social impact of transport will require global co-operation, according to a report released this week. ‘Mobility 2030 – Meeting The Challenges to Sustainability’, by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), says that if current trends were to continue, social, economic and environmental costs across the world would be unacceptably high in the coming decades.

The study presents seven goals to meet the demand for sustainable transport, based on limiting emissions, developing cleaner technologies and focusing on transport situations in developing countries.

Despite the largely positive findings of the study, it was concluded that eliminating transport as a major producer of greenhouse gases could not be achieved until ‘much later’ than 2030.

More than 200 representatives from twelve of the world’s leading automotive and energy companies – including Volkswagen, General Motors and Shell – participated in the Mobility 2030 project, which began four years ago.

"This project represents a major milestone in our industries facing up to the scale of the challenge to make transport sustainable in the 21st century," said Project Co-chair, Jeroen van der Veer, Chairman of the Committee of Managing Directors, Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies

Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda, Honorary Chairman of Toyota, and also a project co-chair, added "The key to sustainable mobility on a global basis will be achieving it in the developing world. Fundamental to achieving this is the need to narrow the mobility opportunity divides that exist within countries as well as between the world's poorest countries and the developed world."