Following last year’s successful Train to Copenhagen communications campaign – jointly organised by UIC, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and WWF, for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP15) last December – the role of rail as part of the solution to climate change will be highlighted at this year’s climate change conference when the parties meet for COP16, from 29 November to 10 December, in Cancun, Mexico.
For COP16, UIC and UNEP are collaborating with the Institution for Transport Policy Studies (ITPS), and will be organising on 1 December (Cancun Messe, 20:15-21:45): a shared side event: “Keeping climate solutions on track – the role of partnerships, good practice and rail”.
The event will present leading climate neutral practice and solutions scaled to the size of the transport challenge: rail’s emissions reduction potential including the carbon footprint of high speed, aid schemes for rail infrastructure in developing countries and rail’s approach to adaptation; carbon footprint reduction initiatives in the logistics and transport sector; and other solutions in different areas of transport (air, road, ship, etc.).
Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson/Head of Media will moderate the debate session, which will include Yuki Tanaka, official of the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Holger Dalkmann, Programme Manager for Climate Change and Sustainable Transport (TRL) and Svein Tveitdal, Director of Climate2020 and Environmental Ambassador
to the city of Arendal.
UIC and UNEP will also have a joint exhibition stand at the official COP16 venue, which will be highlighting the UIC Declaration on Sustainable Mobility & Transport, the UIC project Adapting Rail Infrastructure to Climate Change (ARISCC), the online eco-comparison tools EcoTransIT and EcoPassenger, as well as an updated version of the Global Rail Position Paper on Climate Change, which provides an overview of the emissions reductions potential
and commitment from the railways. UNEP will be showcasing climate success stories in the transport sector, including Jakarta’s innovative bus rapid transit system and the Global Fuel Economy Initiative – clean tech in action.
ITPS will also have an exhibition stand at the official COP16 venue, reporting on the global warming research project – Study of Transport System in a Low Carbon Society (STL).
UNEP will also have a separate exhibition stand which will be displaying a range of publications and information available in e-format.
