How to improve urban mobility to achieve Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030?

How to improve urban mobility to achieve Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030?

On 10 September 2024, the ERRIN Transport and Smart Cities Working Groups organised a meeting on the Cities Mission, with a focus on sustainable urban mobility. The event brought together experts, local and regional representatives, and EU officials to discuss innovative strategies for reducing emissions in the mobility sector and to present key measures needed to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. This aligns with the broader European objective of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, supported by the Cities Mission and the NetZeroCities project, in which ERRIN is a partner.

The discussions emphasised the central role of mobility in cities’ Climate City Contracts (CCCs), serving as an instrument to guide cities in their efforts to reach climate neutrality. Sustainable mobility is essential in reducing urban emissions, yet cities face significant challenges, especially in attracting investments and coordinating across governance levels. This meeting explored the key obstacles and opportunities for cities aiming to transform their transportation networks.

As Adriana Diaz Arias (EIT Urban Mobility) from the NetZeroCities project outlined, achieving integrated and sustainable mobility is inherently complex. It involves navigating multiple levels of city competencies as well as competencies across different governance levels, addressing infrastructural interdependencies with energy systems, and overcoming political and cultural barriers. 20% of the 500 barriers towards achieving climate neutrality identified by cities were related to transport, emphasising the sector's importance for Europe’s net-zero ambitions. Diaz Arias highlighted the importance of empowering cities through investment, visibility, and support while tailoring solutions to the unique contexts of individual cities. The need for cities to break down silos, streamline regulations, and involve citizens in participatory processes was repeatedly stressed.

Practical examples from Suceava, Romania, and Bordeaux Métropole, France, provided insightful case studies on how cities are tackling their mobility challenges.

Cosmin Ceucă, representing Suceava, presented the city's ambitious plans to transition to electric public transport, extend cycling infrastructure, and encourage electric vehicle use. These initiatives aim to integrate the metropolitan area into the city's mobility plan, underlining the importance of extending beyond administrative boundaries.

From France, Adèle Gouguet of Bordeaux Métropole showcased how the city is reimagining its public transport system by enhancing express tram and bus lanes and building cycle superhighways, making commuting easier for those in the periphery. Gouguet emphasised that achieving these goals requires a combination of smooth multilevel governance, technical expertise, financial innovation (such as green debt recognition), and collective behavioural changes to reduce transport demand, including telework and promoting local employment.

Financial challenges emerged as a major obstacle for cities aiming to scale up their mobility projects. Allison Lobb, Executive Director of Bankers without Boundaries, introduced the Climate City Capital Hub, a resource offering financial advice and project structuring to help labelled Mission Cities access capital. By connecting cities to a wide range of public and private investors, the Hub ensures tailored financial solutions that drive sustainable urban mobility initiatives.

The European Commission's support for cities was highlighted by Robert Szucs from DG MOVE, who presented how the revision of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) regulation could help cities manage their urban nodes – areas located in and around the urban area connected with other elements of that infrastructure and with the infrastructure for regional and local traffic. Szucs underscored the importance of multimodal transport hubs both for passengers and freight as part of Europe’s sustainable mobility future. The TEN-T regulation promotes the development of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs), which aim to improve accessibility and mobility across commuting zones. Szucs outlined a detailed timeline for implementing urban node requirements, including the establishment of national SUMP programmes and the creation of multimodal hubs by 2030.

The event highlighted several key insights that will shape the future of urban mobility in Europe. One of the primary takeaways is the importance of extending mobility solutions beyond city borders. Urban mobility challenges can only be effectively addressed through collaboration between cities, metropolitan areas, regions, and national authorities. Urban nodes play a critical role in reducing emissions and preventing bottlenecks in broader transportation networks.

Another major issue is the challenge of attracting sufficient investment for mobility projects. Many cities struggle to secure the necessary funding to implement sustainable mobility solutions. However, initiatives such as the Climate City Capital Hub offer valuable support by providing tailored financial advice and fostering early engagement with potential investors, helping cities overcome these financial barriers.

Effective governance and collaboration are also essential. Sustainable urban mobility cannot be achieved in isolation; it requires smooth coordination across different levels of government, as well as technical expertise and active participation from a wide range of stakeholders, including national governments, regional authorities, and the private sector.

 

ERRIN, through its Smart Cities Working Group and broader Low Carbon Cluster, has been actively involved in developing the Mission on 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030 since early 2019, significantly contributing to both its shaping and implementation through numerous input papers and meetings with the European Commission. Additionally, ERRIN is a key partner in the NetZeroCities project, which manages the Cities Mission Platform.

ERRIN has been following the revision of the TEN-T regulation over the past years through several meetings and position papers. 

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