Our International Climate Change Work

Transport must be part of the solution, any international agreement should recognize the sector, provide more incentives to move to a low carbon transport model and thus help governments move in this direction TRL recognises the challenges ahead and believes that through innovative thinking and policy design positive change can be brought about at an international scale. TRL's key international climate change capabilities include:

• leading action to better integrate the transport sector in a Post-2012 climate change framework,
• supporting modal shift to less carbon intensive modes of transport in developing countries through technology transfer, knowledge sharing and capacity building,
• supporting the development of sustainable transport policies and strategies in both developing and developed countries,
• examining the current and future role of financing to enable the required paradigm shift towards the development of sustainable, low-carbon transport in developing countries,
• building the evidence and data to support the policy development.

Further information on our work in each of the areas including a few specific examples is provided below.

1.1.1 Building an international Framework

As part of the international ‘Bridging the Gap' consortium, which includes GTZ, Veolia Transport, UITP and ITDP, TRL is currently leading a set of actions to better integrate the transport sector in a Post-2012 climate change framework. Action includes the formulation of suggestions to the UNFCCC negotiating text, chairing of expert workshops, drafting of strategy papers and presenting at major events including the UNFCCC climate summits.  (For more information on the 'Bridging the Gap' initiative, visit www.transport2020.org)

The Bridging the Gap Initiative has published its 2012 Annual Report summarising, from a land transport perspective, the proceedings from the UNFCCC. This year's report from COP18, Doha, is entitled "The Doha Gateway - opening a pathway for sustainable transport?" The paper is the Initiative's analysis of the COP18's outcomes which are of the most relevance to the land transport sector. The paper also provides recommendations and suggests opportunities for the land transport community. To download the report, click here.

TRL has undertaken a case study of a Transport Demand Management model in Jakarta, Indonesia. This case study is one of four from the Asian and Latin American regions illustrating suitable NAMAs and CDM projects in the transport sector. The case studies are part of the post 2012 Climate Instruments in the transport sector (CITS) project implemented by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in cooperation with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The project is a first step to help ensure that the transport sector can benefit from the revised/new climate change mitigation instruments under a post-2012 Climate Change Agreement were among a group of 21 transport experts who created the ‘Bellagio Declaration on Transport and Climate Change' in May 2009 organised by the Asian Development Bank and the Clean Air Initiative. The Declaration calls on organizations and individuals to support urgent action to change the change the trajectory of future GHG emissions from transport and to make transport in developing countries more sustainable.

1.1.2 Behaviour and technology change

We have undertaken a range of work to support modal shift to less carbon intensive modes of transport in developing countries and to facilitate the sharing of technologies to reduce carbon emissions. For example TRL has authored a module on climate policy, and another on sustainable financing as part of the GTZ series of Sourcebooks aimed at policy makers in developing cities in need of practical solutions for sustainable transport. The ‘Transport and Climate Change' sourcebook, published in 2007, can be found on the SUTP website.

1.1.3 Policy development and support

TRL is engaged in a number of projects aimed at supporting the development of sustainable transport policies and strategies in both developing and developed countries. For example we worked with the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) to support the National Development Planning Agency (BAPPENAS) of the Republic of Indonesia in to develop a Roadmap for Transport and Climate Change. The project consists of two missions (each 2 weeks long) to Jakarta, with TRL staff working on the ground with local policy makers and transport specialists to develop strategies to mitigate future carbon emissions and adapt infrastructure to a changing climate.

We also undertook a project on Policy instruments for Chinese sustainable future: Environmental Policy integration and Strategic Environmental Assessment for the Energy and Transport sectors of China. The project was financed by the European Commission's Programme Asia Pro Eco II (No. 122184) and co-financed by participating project partners. This project helped to build transportation and energy-use systems in China aiming at achieving a sustainable development in China. Simply click here to see the project documents which can be found in English and in Chinese.

1.1.4 Carbon and transport finance

We have recently produced two white papers focused the potential for international financial mechanisms to support sustainable transport:

• A paradigm shift towards sustainable low-carbon transport (2010, ITDP) This White Paper examines the current and future role of financing to enable the required paradigm shift towards the development of sustainable, low-carbon transport in developing countries.
• The Global Environment Facility's (GEF) comparative advantage in supporting low carbon sustainable transport solutions (2010, GEF) TRL led the developed of Chapter 5 of the White Paper for GEF. The chapter provides an overview of both existing and future international financial mechanisms that are available to support low carbon transport in the developing world, highlights lessons that GEF can learn from these instruments and opportunities for GEF to link with these sources of finance.

We are also working with UNEP to develop the Green Economy Report to provide policy makers with information to integrate the climate agenda into policy decisions for a green economy. For more information on UNEP Green Economy Initiative visit their website:

1.1.5 Data and evidence informing policy

TRL has worked with the European Environment Agency (EEA) to produce the annual Transport Environmental Reporting Mechanism (TERM) reports for the last four years. TRL was commissioned to produce 11 of the 2007 indicator factsheets including:

• ‘Climate for a transport change' (2007),
• ‘Transport at a crossroads' (2008),
• "Success stories within the road transport sector on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and producing ancillary benefits" (2008),
• "Beyond transport policy - exploring and managing the external drivers of transport demand" (2008).