En Route to COP26 – Greener Ambitions to Rebuild Trust in Public Transport

COVID-19 has unravelled our way of life. The recovery task is a daunting challenge,  we must  invest far smarter than in the past. And we need to do so through the lens of climate change, which remains the existential threat facing the planet.

As we seek to rebuild our cities and connections with each other, clean, green and efficient public transport remains one of the smartest investments we can make. If we are to limit global temperature rise in line with our commitments to the Paris Agreement, we must cut emissions in the urban transport sector and invest in cleaner, more efficient public transport that works with the natural world, alongside walking and cycling.  It is a big part of solving the climate puzzle.

We cannot look to a better future for our urban citizens without affordable, clean and green transport. And the good news is that these are investments that make huge economic sense.

As we start to rebuild and as Member States set out their recovery packages for the future, we must think about the far bigger challenges that still lie ahead of us.We must take the unique opportunity that this global pandemic has provided to build our cities back more sustainably  and rebuild trust back into public transport with the goal of tackling these bigger challenges from the get-go, especially in the build up to COP 26.

Speakers: 

• Mohamed Mezghani, Secretary General, UITP, Belgium
• Anna Lisa Boni, Secretary General, Eurocities, Belgium
• Dolores Ortiz, Director General of Planning and Mobility Infrastructures, Madrid City Council, Spain
• Gordon Dickson, Head of Bus Strategy & Delivery, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), UK
• Paul White, Director of Government Relations, Europe, Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) Scotland, UK
• Katja Suhonen, Public Transport Manager, Lahden kaupunki / City of Lahti, Finland

The webinar will be moderated by Dorthe Nielsen, Executive Director, Eurocities, Belgium.