Transport
WWF’s One Planet Mobility programme
Our expectation to be able to travel almost anywhere in the world would have been unthinkable just 50 years ago. The ’mobility revolution’ has shaped the way we live, where and how we work, and how we spend our leisure time.
Unfortunately, our increasing personal mobility has resulted in serious environmental impacts. In the UK, the transport we use currently accounts for about a quarter of our nation’s carbon emissions. In Europe, the personal mobility sector – which includes cars, aviation and public transport (and excludes freight transport) – has the fastest growing energy demands of all sectors and, in most countries, is the only sector with consistently increasing emissions.
Alongside the environmental impacts, the ‘mobility revolution’ has not always brought higher levels of well-being. The average commuter in the UK now spends 29 working days each year travelling to work – over a working life that could add up to more than five years of travel. Local air pollution and increasing noise levels also have a negative impact on physical and mental health. And the economic costs of being so mobile – from the price of filling up with petrol to the high infrastructure costs – are significant.
The challenge
So far, solutions to reduce the energy we need for transport have focused on incremental steps, such as improving the efficiency of our vehicles. But any efficiency gains have been outstripped by the growth in demand.
In order to achieve a One Planet Future, where people and nature thrive together, we need to reduce our actual demand for quick and easy travel while maintaining our quality of life.
What is WWF doing about it?
WWF's ‘One Planet Mobility’ programme is creating solutions that will help reduce the need for travel and encourage a shift to more sustainable ways of making journeys that are still necessary.
During 2007 and early 2008, WWF brought together more than 30 European organisations from business, government and civil society to help develop a deeper understanding of the opportunities for developing sustainable personal mobility solutions and the barriers that stand in our way. Most importantly, a framework was agreed for working collaboratively for systemic change. The findings of this process will be outlined in WWF’s One Planet Mobility Report (due for publication in September 2008).
One Planet Mobility – European Cities Project
WWF aims to work with four or five European cities to develop a vision for sustainable urban mobility and explore ways to achieve that vision by 2030.
The project will use a new software tool called REAP (based on material flow analysis and carbon footprint) to analyse the environmental impact of personal mobility on each partner city. This software will be used to explore alternative development scenarios for each city and then create a cohesive vision for sustainable mobility. This will be tested by key decision-makers from participating cities, including representatives from business and civil society. The project will then focus on delivering sustainable mobility solutions for each city.
One Planet Mobility Alliance
WWF realises that it cannot work alone to achieve systemic change. More and closer partnerships between business, government and civil society are vital to make the profound changes to personal mobility that are needed. Inertia within the current system is huge and there are significant vested interests in maintaining the status quo – so the case for change requires strong and credible voices. WWF will therefore continue working with leading organisations which are committed to sustainable mobility, and aims to build a powerful alliance that will call for changes to the market frameworks that will enable sustainable business models to thrive.
Latest reports
Contact us
For enquires about our One Planet Mobility programme or report, please contact:
Michael Narberhaus
mnarberhaus@wwf.org.uk