TraCS to support revision of transport section in Kenya’s National Climate Change Action Plan

“Climate change was not a priority before TraCS…” said the head of the Roads Services Unit in the Ministry of Transport during the two and a half day “Data Requirements & Emissions Calculations for Decarbonising Transport” training held from October 11^th to 13^th 2017. He acknowledged the contribution the project has played in shifting the narrative and was looking forward to the sector playing a leading role in the next phase of implementation of the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP). The training, which included representation from all key agencies within the ministry of transport, focused on two major issues: 1) introducing participants to the main approaches of emission calculation and mitigation option analysis for the transport sector, and 2) exploring the next immediate steps for the project. In the end it was agreed that TraCS, through the State Department of Transport and GIZ, will support revision of the National Climate Change Action Plan transport sections and will offer all necessary assistance including reviewing the mitigation potentials and further capacity enhancement for the engaged institutions. These revisions will be based on the agreed upon workplan provided by the Ministry of Environment and in close coordination with the overall revision process, also supported by the NDC Partnership.

[COP23] Low Carbon Transport: G20 on Track?

November 8^th, 14:30-16:00

GIZ kicks off its transport-focused events at COP23 in collaboration with the German Think Tank, Agora Verkehrsende, and the question: What is the level of ambition regarding mitigation of G20 countries in the transport sector?

The following speakers will present at the event: Jochen Flasbarth (State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety), Christian Hochfeld (Executive Director of Agora Verkehrwende) and representatives from emerging economies and civil society.  Continue reading →

[COP23] Experience Climate Friendly Mobility in Cologne

November 9th, 9:30-16:30

Don’t just learn about climate friendly mobility, but experience it with an excursion to Cologne, one of the largest cities in West Germany with ambitious plans in progress to renovate their bus fleet and expand urban mobility options. The excursion offers detailed strategies and hands-on understandings of challenges and solutions in urban transport in Cologne. No resource of Cologne’s public transportation company, Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe (KVB) AG, will be missed – from KVB headquarters, to their bus depot, subway station, control offices, bike sharing and charging spots. What can be learned from Cologne’s transition to electric buses? Can Cologne’s smart transport systems apply to your own? Join us and find out! Continue reading →

Reverse innovation in urban mobility – new incentives for German cities

Air pollution, noise and a lack of space – German municipalities are looking for ways to make traffic more sustainable. GIZ and the Umweltbundesamt (UBA) have therefore collected inspiring sustainable mobility innovations from emerging and developing countries for the joint brochure “Reverse Innovation – Rethinking Urban Transport Through Global Learning”. In the context of the European Mobility Week on 18 September 2017, high-level representatives from the Federal Environment Agency the GIZ Management Board officially launched the brochure. More than 100 guests from different federal ministries, research facilities and various representatives from the private sector participated in the event.

The new brochure presents 10 innovations from emerging and developing countries that provide inspirations for sustainable mobility in Germany. One example presented at the event was by the founder of Raye7, an urban carpooling app that matches trips of users who belong to predetermined social communities such as co-workers or friends. The payment model is a cashless pointing based system: drivers earn points for every shared ride. The Project manager in the Sustainable Transport GIZ project in Beijing elaborated on the “electric bus boom’ in China. Due to political will, large-scale pilot projects and copious funding programmes, more than 100,000 electric buses are implemented by now. Another innovation was presented the Co-Founder of the urban safety app SafetiPin from India. This mobile application and at the same time an online platform, provides safety information on public places that include a safety scoring of public spaces, a GPS tracking function for users, and a safe route planning option.

The event showed that digital innovations in the urban transport sector are increasingly gaining momentum – “we need to explore new mechanisms to learn from fast developing cities and use this knowledge to identify new urban mobility solutions for German cities” concluded Christoph Beier.

The event was supported by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the project Advancing Transport Climate Strategies and the Sustainable Mobility (Policy Advisory Service).

Want to learn more?

Please download the brochure here

UNFCCC and GIZ present: Webinar series on Methodologies for Baselines and Monitoring in the Transport Sector

We are pleased to invite you to participate in a joint webinar series of the UNFCCC Secretariat and GIZ on Methodologies for GHG Baselines and Monitoring in the Transport Sector. The series comprises eight webinars and is based on the chapters of the UNFCCC Secretariat’s Passenger and Freight Transport Volume of the Compendium on GHG Baselines and Monitoring.

We’ll kick-start the series on 5 October 2017 at 2pm (UTC+2) German time with the first webinar on National Fuel Economy Standards. REPRESENTATIVES from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) will introduce a methodology and newly developed Excel tool (FESET) for setting GHG baselines and monitoring emission reductions from the introduction of fuel economy standards. In the last 30 minutes of the webinar, there will be time for questions and answers.

The webinar addresses primarily government agencies, consultants, think tanks and international cooperation organisations that want to calculate emissions reductions from fuel economy standards.

Webinar times – 5 October 2017

08:00 – 09:30 Washington DC (UTC-4)
09:00 – 10:30 Brasilia (UTC-3)
14:00 – 15:30 Berlin, Windhoek (UTC+2)
15:00 – 16:30 Addis Ababa, Nairobi (UTC+3)
19:00 – 20:30 Bangkok, Hanoi (UTC+7)

We’re looking forward to meeting you online!

The full series will cover the methodologies for all mitigation action types covered by the Passenger and Freight Transport Volume:

1. National Fuel Economy Standards (5 October 2017 – with the ICCT)
2. Comprehensive Urban Transport Programmes (13 December 2017 – with CCAP)
3. Pricing Policies
4. Alternative Fuels Incentives, Regulation and Production
5. Mass Transit Investments
6. Vehicle Efficiency Improvement Programmes
7. Inter-Urban Rail Infrastructure
8. Shift Mode of Freight Transport from Road to Rail or Water

Further information on the Passenger and Freight Transport Volume

On 09 May 2017, during the UNFCCC´s 46th session of the Subsidiary Bodies in Bonn, the publication of the Passenger and Freight Transport Volume of the UNFCCC’s Compendium on GHG Baselines and Monitoring was officially launched. The Transport Volume is a multi-stakeholder effort to provide a resource map of methodologies and tools for establishing baselines and monitoring emissions reductions from mitigation actions.It covers more than 30 methodologies and tools, which are structured into eight different mitigation action types.

The transport volume was coordinated by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in cooperation with the UNFCCC Secretariat and the Partnership on Sustainable Low Carbon Transport (SloCaT) and funded through the International Climate Initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety BMU. It was written with the assistance of the Center for Clean Air Policy with contributions from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) and INFRAS.

Three days left to register for our workshop “Reverse Innovation: Rethinking Urban Transport through Global Learning” on 18th of September 2017 in Berlin

Our dialogue event “Reverse Innovation: Rethinking Urban Transport through Global Learning” is coming closer: On the 18^th of September the German Environment Agency (UBA) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) are jointly hosting the international event.

In the context of the European Mobility Week (September 18^th to 22^nd 2017) the event aims at discussing innovative urban mobility developments from developing and emerging countries and their potential application for German cities. Thus, we offer a forum for exchange between cities, institutions and companies.

You can expect interesting presentations i.a. from Egypt (Founder of Carpooling App Raye7), from Indonesia (SVP Business Intelligence of Go-Jek) and from India (Co-Founder SafetiPin App).

More information on the agenda and the venue find here.

We look forward to seeing you!

Transport and Climate Change Training held in Kenya

The Kenyan State Department of Transport (SDoT) together with the Advancing Transport Climate Strategies (TraCS) project implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) were jointly hosting a training workshop in order to meet the increasing need for improved sectoral coordination, huge data gaps that need filling and in-depth trainings on GHG data analysis for the Kenyan transport sector.

The workshop took place on 21 June 2017 in Nairobi, Kenya, and provided participants from different state agencies under the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development (MoTIHUD) with a deeper understanding of the basic relationships between climate change and transport, the differences between GHG emissions and local air pollution, and the basics of GHG calculations in the transport sector.

Discussion focused on data availability and storage, as well as existing data sharing arrangements. Several participants including representatives from agencies such as the Kenya Railways and the Kenya Airports Authority indicated to being in the possession of well disaggregated data within their agencies. Other agencies as the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), responsible for vehicle registration, inspection and maintenance, stressed to be working on expanding their reach and improving their systems.

The participants also acknowledged the significance of the TraCS project describing it as a useful sectoral initiative that – if successful – can provide guidance for other sectors to follow suit.

This training was the first to be held as part of the jointly developed work plan (April 2017) between the TraCS project and the State Department for Transport in Kenya. Activities identified were being implemented within the framework of the Kenyan National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP), the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), as well as the Climate Change ACT 2016 which form the backbone of Kenya’s transition into a low carbon climate resilient nation.

Save the Date: 18/09/2017: Workshop − Rethinking Urban Transport through Global Learning

The German Environment Agency (UBA) together with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) are jointly hosting the international workshop “Reverse Innovation − Rethinking Urban Transport through Global Learning”.

The workshop will take place on the 18th of September 2017 in Berlin. In the context of the European Mobility Week (September 18^th to 22^nd 2017) and in parallel to the Transport and Climate Change Week (by GIZ on behalf of BMUB) the workshop will inspire urban mobility development in German cities.

Since challenges of digitalisation and decarbonisation of transport and mobility are on the rise globally, mutual learning for cities become more vital than ever before. Cities can rely on a wide range of experiences in the European Union, which has been promoting city networks and bringing together urban mobility actors for many years. But it is particular worth looking beyond Europe’s borders as foreign business innovations are proving. Electric busses come from China and flexible delivery services via app are daily routine in India and Indonesia.

What are the potentials of reverse innovations in the field of urban mobility? In how far can German cities learn from urban mobility developments coming from developing countries?

Addressing these questions, the president of the German Environment Agency, Ms. Krautzberger, as well as Mr. Dr. Beier, the Member of GIZ Management Board, will jointly open the workshop and kick-start the discussion on the potential of reverse innovation in the field of urban mobility.

Then the workshop will provide practical innovation examples from developing and emerging countries such as China, Egypt, Indonesia and India that ought to ignite a lively discussion with the diverse audience.

Furthermore, a high-level panel discussion will be hosted whose panellists include German Mayors, high ranking company representatives and innovation researchers. Please find a tentative agenda here.