Despite humans’ evolution around 10,000 years
ago
from nomadic to
sedentary,
mobility has remained an ever-changing central element of our way of life — with
major implications for our relationship with the environment.
Then, in March 2020,
COVID-19 emerged and
we were forced into a global, unheard-of lockdown. Wide
research
has been conducted into how the global pandemic has and will change our lives,
cities and businesses. Some have actually
checked
the impact of the pandemic against climate change, as well as dug
into
the intersection between urban mobility and COVID-19 transmission. If we can
predict something, it is that urban mobility will never be the
same.
But before all of this came about, urban mobility was reshaped even in the last
10 years. We evolved from just public transportation, taxis or private vehicles
into what experts call
ACES:
autonomous driving, connected cars, electrified vehicles, and shared
mobility. And due to the increasing environmental
consciousness
over lockdown, we expect to see more aggressive approaches and climate actions
remaining front and center on the world agenda. Here are just a few examples
we’re already seeing …
More livable urban centers
Road transport accounts for 11.7 percent of global GHG emissions; and urban
centers generate 70 percent of them, according to the International Energy
Agency
and C40 Cities.
Cities are therefore instrumental in the solution for climate change, which
crucially requires taking steps towards decarbonization of mobility.
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Both emission offsetting and vehicle electrification are means to this vital
end. For this reason, we at Cabify reached carbon neutrality of operations
and rider journeys in Spain and
Latin America three years ago, globally leading the way in the
multi-mobility space. During this time, we have offset more than 310,000 tons of
CO2 (which equals protecting 14 million trees in the Amazonian Rainforest),
while we progress on the reduction of emissions and the fleet electrification by
2025 and 2030 in Spain and Latin America, respectively.
By partnering with Spanish fintech Climate
Trade, we are starting to support new clean
energy and environmental projects in Peru, Chile and Brazil —
leveraging blockchain technology to efficiently and transparently trace the
offsetting funds we provide projects with.
But it is vital to bring the issue closer to all of us: We aim to raise
individual awareness on climate change; and thanks to an innovative emission
and offsetting traceability system, implemented through an API, riders using
our ride-hailing app will soon be aware, at the end of every journey, of the
exact carbon footprint emitted and offset for them by our company.
Technology is a key enabler for climate action — as we saw at the Greentech
Festival in September, where autonomous air
taxis, 3D-printed bikes, electric motorcycles, and foldable e-bikes outlined
what lays ahead. Those are some of the most futuristic alternatives; but we also
see some big commitments made by major players:
Amazon
is taking a unique, hands-on approach to designing and developing its electric
vans in conjunction with partner Rivian; Volvo
Group and Daimler
Trucks created a joint venture that will develop, build and sell hydrogen fuel
cell systems for heavy-duty trucks; and
Hyundai
continues to improve the eco-friendliness of internal combustion engine
vehicles, while developing and producing eco-friendly vehicles such as EVs and
fuel cell EVs.
One of the key developments we are starting to witness is the ambition to make
cities people-centric through a shift to sustainable urban mobility. Paris
Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s 15-minute
city
concept is a good case in point: Parisians should be able to meet their
shopping, work, recreational and cultural needs within a short walk or bike
ride. Consequently, it would also foster cities’ economies and living standards
by developing small businesses, giving equitable access to jobs and city
services, and rebuilding areas economically hard-hit by the pandemic. There is
an association between mobility and growth, so we need to find new solutions to
address the climate and support a more inclusive world. This idea ran contrary
to the US’ development foundation of car-centric planning that left people
behind.
Political will
I also expect governments will be increasingly urged to outline their own
pathways to reach net-zero emissions and to honor the commitments they signed up
to in the Paris Agreement — as Kevin Rudd, former President of
Australia, asked in the Sustainable Innovation
Forum
in early November. In the last few months, we saw the launch of initiatives to
strengthen that commitment — as the Global Mayors COVID-19 Recovery Task
Force
was created to rebuild cities and their economies by improving public health,
reducing inequality, and addressing the climate crisis.
Quality public space
Enriching public spaces is a key trend that will and must guide cities in the
coming years. People are the powerful engine of cities, and connecting to others
is one of our deepest needs as human beings. Pritzker Prize winner Richard
Rogers also reveals some of the
fundamental concerns and challenges faced by the 21st-century cities in the in
his book, Cities for a Small Planet — including the need to recover authentic
public meeting spaces to allow reconciliation of often-conflicting modes of
transport. Some cities are already inspiring the world — such as
Berlin,
the first city to implement pop-up bike lanes to adapt to evolving mobility
patterns caused by COVID-19; and
Bogotá,
which takes pride in its 600-kilometer cycle network. But not only quality is
needed; the biggest challenge over the next 10 years will be the accessibility
of infrastructure to increase charging points for electric transportation to
enable the growth of more sustainable urban mobility.
Partnerships to reach our goals
Lately, we have seen the creation of some of the world’s strongest alliances on
climate change from the mobility sector, such as the Zero Emission
Transportation Association
(ZETA)
— created “to advocate for national policies to accelerate the transition to
electric vehicles (EVs), create jobs, improve public health and significantly
reduce carbon pollution.” Another example of a huge, global public-private
partnership is The Climate
Pledge,
powered by Amazon and Global Optimism, to connect technology and business in
a collaboration that could crack the climate crisis by meeting the goals of the
Paris Agreement 10 years early. Some of the biggest companies in the world are
joining this alliance to create synergies and pull their efforts together for a
better planet.
In the race to zero emissions, we’ll go faster if we all go together.
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Global Head of Sustainable Impact and Safety
Cabify
Published Dec 1, 2020 1pm EST / 10am PST / 6pm GMT / 7pm CET