Green Transport for the Global COVID Recovery

The global coronavirus pandemic brought a wave of public and private initiatives to help societies adapt and recover, from economic stabilization and safety measures to new business models and shifts in consumption. Many of these initiatives are not green, despite the fact that society needs major changes to avoid the most dangerous effects of climate change and ensure health and equity for all.

Transport is a key sector in need of big changes, comprising 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 24% of carbon emissions. Meanwhile, over a million traffic fatalities occur every year, millions are exposed to deadly air pollution on roads and the majority of residents in many cities — often the poorest — cannot reach a job within an hour of travel time.

In a new paper with the Transport Decarbonisation Alliance, WRI evaluated countries’, cities’ and companies’ actions during the pandemic that impact the transport sector. WRI found that of the $298 billion in global recovery funds catalogued by the Energy Policy Tracker in the transport sector between March 2020 and February 2021, only 44% positively affect the climate and sustainability. However some of the most encouraging actions came from the local level. Hundreds of cities — including Lima, Paris and Addis Ababa — added new bicycle and walking facilities as pandemic safety measures.