Twenty-five Members of Parliament representing 11 nations gathered for the final of three roundtables organised by Climate Parliament in partnership with HVT to provide tangible strategies to advocate for cleaner mobility in their respective countries.
The Climate Parliament is an international network of legislators dedicated to preventing climate change and promoting renewable energy. The roundtable took place on 4th December, where MPs from Bhutan, Egypt, The Gambia, India, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Zimbabwe participated in the session.
The roundtable updated MPs on two specific HVT projects designed to help developing countries reduce their transport-related emissions. Progress from the Transport Decarbonisation Index (TDI) and Access to Climate Finance for Transport (ACF) were presented by HVT suppliers SLOCAT and the World Resources Institute (WRI).
SLOCAT has developed a structured tool that will help policymakers identify activities that could have a significant impact on transport decarbonisation in their own country, while comparing the progress with other countries. WRI’s ACF project has identified where financial mechanisms can be used to increase access to finance for sustainable transport projects in low-income countries.
Researchers from both projects discussed the challenges and barriers that countries may need to overcome, such as the absence of policies and frameworks, limited capacity, data gaps, costs and the perception of high risks. Despite these challenges, researchers spoke about how these can be tackled and how the two projects can support countries with greater transparency, better policy coherence and a stronger commitment to climate finance.
The ACF project presented the latest study looking at 839 transport projects conducted in 14 case studies. These case studies demonstrate that replicable and scalable solutions exist, offering valuable models for accelerating climate finance flows and ensuring they deliver concrete outcomes for low-carbon and resilient transport systems.
Pilot studies of the TDI have revealed the diverse challenges faced by low- and middle-income countries in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, the index is proving to be a valuable tool for identifying good practices and priority areas for decarbonisation.
The updates were well received by the MPs and senators. They asked for SLOCAT and WRI to share the reports and materials produced by their projects, so that they can be used in their countries to better promote more sustainable transport and access climate finance. Many MPs observed that the session had given them additional insight into the decarbonisation challenges that the transport sector faces. They explained that the project findings allowed them to understand how to advocate for better policies in their own countries.
The roundtable discussed how insights from these projects can be integrated into the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and how decarbonisation could be at the heart of developments.