The World Climate Summit is the business and finance conference accelerating solutions for climate change, currently taking place in connection with the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 16) in Cancun, Mexico. The objective of the conference is to facilitate and provide an open and collaborative platform where the inspiring, influential and innovative business, finance, and government leaders can convene to collaborate, implement, and scale solutions locally and globally for the next 10 years. The Summit is funded among others by UN Global Compact, OECD, the World Bank, the Prince of Wales and UNEP, with Siemens and CNN among the sponsors.

UIC, represented by Margrethe Sagevik, Senior Adviser for Sustainable Development, participated in the transport session of the World Climate Summit entitled ‘Transportation – Bringing Mobility Solutions into Scale’, as part of a panel of representatives from the shipping, car, energy, battery and biofuel sectors. The session was chaired by Julie Becker, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.

The discussions touched upon several challenges and possible solutions in connection with reducing transport emissions that are growing faster than in other sectors. The panel debated on how solutions for developing countries differ from those that work in developed countries, the implementation of sustainable transport systems and the integration of these transport systems in urban areas. Against this backdrop, Margrethe Sagevik underlined among others the need for brave and visionary decision-making in order to encourage the creation of smart, sustainable transport systems with mass public transport systems as the backbone.

The conference not only gave UIC the opportunity to interact with more than 100 influential speakers and 300 high-level delegates including Sir Richard Branson, Ted Turner and Lord Nicholas Stern, but also to communicate with a selection of global and industry media.