As part of the International Road Federation’s World Congress in Istanbul, Turkey, HVT hosted a session exploring what it takes to develop greener, inclusive transport infrastructures, with a focus on roads, for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs.)
Transport infrastructure is the backbone to strong economies and communities, but these infrastructures are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Floods can wash out roads and railroads and cut off supply chains; storms disrupt services and extreme heat can melt roads, presenting a critical issue to the communities they impact. LMICs are particularly vulnerable, often experiencing the most severe of weather events.
However, transport is not only feeling the force of climate change but is also contributing to it – responsible for almost a quarter of the energy related carbon emissions. LMICs are traditionally not the main contributors to transport carbon emissions compared to the rest of the world, but as their economies grow, so do their potential emissions and the potential for a new critical challenge.
This session explored a number of key questions including how can economic growth in LMICs be enabled without adding to carbon emissions? What adaptation is needed, and how can this be achieved? How can we ensure that any changes in infrastructure are just and inclusive for all parts of the community?
A keynote was delivered by Margaret-Avis Akofio-Sowah, from the host-partners of the special session, the African Transportation Research Alliance (ATRA) — a newly formed organisation dedicated to the advancement of African transportation research, policy, and practice by bringing transportation professionals together to coordinate research, exchange knowledge, share good practice, and facilitate implementation of innovative ideas. Climate change, resilience, and decarbonisation is one of the 12 critical issues being highlighted by ATRA that need to be addressed to build sustainable and effective transport in Africa.
Moderator, Holger Dalkmann, then welcomed presentations of research — including HVT’s latest work — from:
- Neil Ebenezer, Team Leader, HVT;
- Nikola Medimorec, Author, Partnership of Sustainable Low Carbon Transport (SLOCAT) outlining the Transport Decarbonisation Index: a diagnostic toolkit supporting countries achieve net-zero emissions by 2050;
- Robert Andrew Marty, Data Scientist, World Bank presenting his work focusing on leveraging innovative data sources for impact evaluations, such as satellite imagery, crowdsourced data and private sector data sources; and
- Tim Durrant, SLR, and Olufemi Fayombo, Deputy Director, Roads and Infrastructure, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority discussing Inclusive Interchanges: a design brief for low carbon and safe transport systems, based on city level pilot in Lagos.
- Spencer Rigler, International Business Director, TRL presenting the updated Road Note 31 and HDM5 and their role in adapting roads to the climate crisis.
Presentations were followed by a panel discussion joined by Nicolas Peltier-Thiberge, from the World Bank who discussed how the Global Facility to Decarbonize Transport launched in 2021, is still one of the few programmes taking a truly global and integrated approach to transport decarbonisation.
Nazir Alli, President of PIARC and also a World Bank Consultant with 40 years’ experience as a distinguished civil engineer in both public and private sectors, outlined his thoughts on the key challenges to net zero infrastructure and the key focusses for ensuring road transport becomes greener and more sustainable. This was followed by contributions from Tom Bishop — a programme director for Amend who is currently working on how to improve motorcycle safety across Africa, and the development of a road safety action plan for the city of Tanga, Tanzania.
The session was just one of a number of opportunities at the Congress where HVT research was presented, including representation by Elizabeth Jones, Senior Transport Advisor at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in the opening plenary of the Congress on the topic of Empowering mobility: roads as catalysts for a sustainable future.
HVT team leader Neil Ebenezer and HVT consultant Holger Dalkmann presented the latest approach to transport data from HVT at a special session on Tuesday 15th October. This Special Session provided a comprehensive overview of the 61st Edition of the IRF World Road Statistics (WRS) as well as exploring how data is collected and used, the power of collaboration and the need for better data.
The Congress was attended by more than 2000 delegates from over 130 countries at the Istanbul Conference Centre, in Istanbul, Turkey.