Anyone reading the press or a climate Conference of the Parties (COP) programme could be forgiven for wondering where the practical work happens for railway. Though it is important for UIC to take part in and be present at these conferences, most of the work actually happens off stage. In the months between COPs, non-state stakeholders like UIC and their partners work together on plans that could help shape future policy and bring about further investment.
For example, in Belem last year, the Brazilian Presidency launched the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Global Climate Action Plans to Accelerate Solutions (PASs). Despite its long name, the idea is straightforward: the PAS, each written by a group of non-state stakeholders with a common goal and interest, identifies what needs to change, the obstacles to this change, and organisation that can help. It then sets out actions and milestones so that partners can report on the state of advancement at the next COP.
UIC is involved in three plans: one on reducing unnecessary freight movement and shifting freight to more efficient modes of transport, one on scaling up public transport and sustainable travel in cities, and one on making transport infrastructure more resilient. All three involve several stakeholders, and UIC’s role is to provide railway knowledge and help translate drive into guidance and actions that countries can implement. The plans address five questions that every railway undertaking is familiar with: Is there a market for the service? Does policy support it? Can it be financed? Is the technical expertise available? And are there people with the skills to put it into action?
For instance, the PAS on freight movement does not assume that every consignment can simply be transported by train. It looks at how goods are produced and moved, how logistics services can better connect rail with other modes of transport with the aim of establishing multimodal, seamless and international corridors, and what would make those services attractive to customers. UIC has contributed to this project by providing guidance to help countries integrate a modal shift to rail into their national climate plans. It has also increased awareness of the MoveCredits Coalition and explained on how carbon credits could support sustainable transport investment.
The city transport plan operates in much the same way. It recognises that people choose a whole journey, not a mode of transport in isolation, including getting to a station, the switch between connections and the service as whole. UIC has worked with partners on developing guidance for including rail, public transport and active mobility in national climate plans. The plan’s COP31 progress report also has training courses and technical support delivered by partners to help transport professionals put those commitments into practice.
Looking ahead, the MoveCredits Coalition, established with the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) and Alstom, will explore how high-integrity carbon credits could help finance rail and public transport. It must address the challenge of establishing a credible methodology for measuring and verifying emissions reductions. At an official COP31 UNFCCC side event in Antalya, Turkey, UIC and its partners will host a panel discussion on the challenges and opportunities for carbon markets under the framework of the developing Paris Agreement Credit Mechanism (PACM).
The resilience PAS is rightly multimodal, covering rail, road and ports, recognising that disruption on one part of a transport network can affect communities and supply chains far down the line. It seeks to improve every aspect of the infrastructure lifecyle: assessing future climate risks, improving design and standards, maintaining and upgrading existing assets, building professional capacity, and unlocking further investment. It also identifies gaps in common standards and measures, uneven technical capacity, and areas where finance is limited, specifically maintenance and retrofitting, which are less visible than new construction. The group of partners steering this PAS have suggested guidance for transport in National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), more consistent approaches to climate-risk assessment, shared examples of solutions, and opportunities for professionals to learn across sectors and regions. UIC’s resilience work and railway expertise can contribute to that work.
Our new study, Advancing Rail Resilience in National Adaptation Planning and Finance, shows just how necessary that work is. UIC examined 44 publicly available NAPs, documents in which governments set out how they will prepare for the effects of climate change. Transport appeared in 39 plans, but rail appeared in only 23 and even in those cases, the costs of such measures or identified sources of finance were rarely developed. A government may acknowledge that rail is exposed to flooding or extreme heat yet still have no dedicated funds to protect vulnerable and critical hubs and assets.
UIC would like NAPS to not only mention rail but also assess where assets and operations are vulnerable, involve railway organisations early, align adaptation with transport and climate plans, set out the investments needed, and integrate the topic of resilience into standards, maintenance and monitoring. The study also draws an important distinction between the risks that investment can reduce and the disruption that may still occur despite the best preparation. This gives practical substance to the resilience PAS.
As this work continues ahead of COP31 in Antalya, UIC, represented by our Director General, will speak at the ministerial roundtable on green freight corridors. That discussion will bring rail into a conversation about how maritime, rail and road transport can work together along international trade routes, and what cooperation, regulation and finance such corridors require. That is exactly the kind of conversation in which rail needs to be understood as necessary for a functioning transport system.
This work is not easy, and the COP process is not perfect. A statement at the COP is not an investment decision, and providing useful guidance does not guarantee that a country can fund a project. As a result, progress can be slow relative to the urgency of the climate change-related challenges. But it is important that rail has a voice in these spaces, to connect the international discussion and railway practice.
Find out more:
Scaling up public and sustainable transport in cities (Avoid and shift breakthrough):
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Sustainable urban mobility that prioritises “Avoid” and “Shift” pathways to cut road transport emissions, focusing on public transport, rail, and active mobility.
Resilient and Adaptive Transport Infrastructure:
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This solution advances climate-resilient and adaptive transport systems through policies, standards, and investments that embed climate risk considerations across the entire infrastructure lifecycle.
“Avoid & Shift” strategies in freight transport: 4 key themes for international cooperation | IDDRI
More about the MOVECREDITS coalition here: MOVECREDITS COALITION PLEDGE | UIC
Advancing Rail Resilience in National Adaptation Planning and Finance study:
Advancing Rail Resilience report
