Why is the Foundation involved in the Global Alliance for EcoMobility?
“The FIA Foundation is fully committed to the development of sustainable transport solutions. As an independent UK registered international charity, conducting policy research and supporting innovative projects, we encourage the development of new eco-mobility policies which look to promote non-motorised transport alternatives as well as ways that the impact on the environment from vehicles can be lessened”.
Is the Foundation’s agenda to encourage reliance on car transport?
“No. All modes of transportation including public transport, non-motorised alternatives and car transport have a role to play in the development of a framework for eco-mobility. The challenge is to combine different modes of transport in a way that is both economically and environmentally sustainable. The Foundation strongly endorses the objectives of the Alliance to encourage sustainable modal choices, and in particular to enable safe mobility for pedestrians and cyclists in developing countries”.
What work is the Foundation currently doing to promote sustainable mobility?
The Foundation is a member of the UN Environment Programme’s Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles, a priority of which has been the elimination of lead in gasoline, the phase down of sulphur in diesel and gasoline fuels, and the adoption of cleaner vehicle technologies. The Partnership has been instrumental in making sub Saharan Africa lead free in just four years. The Foundation is also running a project to assess the environmental performance of passenger cars – EcoTest. EcoTest out-performs official EU tests of a car’s environmental impact, in two key ways: First, because it covers all key emissions from your car – greenhouse gases and pollutants. And second because the tests it runs are more realistic, covering more driving conditions than the standard tests do, such as motorway driving and the impact of vehicle features such as air-conditioning”.
What is the link between Eco-mobility and road safety?
“The FIA Foundation has been playing a leading role in the campaign for global road safety. A staggering 1.2 million people are killed on the roads each year and the Make Roads Safe campaign has been demanding urgent action at a global level to tackle the problem. The world’s roads must be made safe for all vulnerable road users - pedestrians, cyclists and motorists alike. Particularly in developing countries, where motorisation is on the rise, the road infrastructure fails to protect vulnerable road users. Sustainable roads – which have proper pavements and cycle paths, protect vulnerable road users, as well as providing the necessary infrastructure to support more sustainable transport choices”.
What is the 10% proposal for safe and sustainable roads?
“The Commission for Global Road Safety recommends that “at a minimum 10% of all road infrastructure projects should be committed to road safety. This principle should be rigorously and consistently applied by all bilateral and multilateral donors.” Around $4 billion a year is provided in loans to support road infrastructure projects in middle and low income countries. This recommendation is essential to ensure that when roads are built they are safe for all road users, and that they cater for and encourage safe, independent mobility by pedestrians and cyclists, especially children”.
The FIA Foundation has motoring clubs as its members. How can you be part of an eco-mobility alliance?
The Foundation is an independent charitable body working in the public interest. We have no connection to the motor industry, and certainly do not lobby in their interests or the interests of any particular sector. National automobile clubs from around the world are members of the FIA Foundation, which we see as a strength because it gives us the practical experience of millions of motorists on which to draw – motorists who are almost all at one time or another also passengers, pedestrians, and even cyclists”.
“We believe that the central challenge is to ensure that cars are as sustainable and safe as possible – through tough fuel efficiency and safety regulation – and that everything possible is done to reduce car dependency: through land use planning; affordable, clean and safe public transport provision and promotion of eco-mobility. This is why we have joined the Global Alliance for EcoMobility”.