Transportation accounts for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Of those emissions, 90 percent is from road vehicles. And approximately half of those emissions are from passenger cars.
Infrastructure that gets people out of cars and provides a safe, accessible way to bike and walk is a key climate solution. But it’s still not high on the global climate agenda.
At Transforming Transportation in Washington, D.C., government and non-profit leaders explained how they are trying to elevate active transportation in climate discussions.
The Netherlands, one of the world’s biking superpowers, seeks to promote cycling and walking on a global level. At COP28 in Dubai, they launched the ACTIVE Program, creating a global financial fund to increase investment in bike and pedestrian infrastructure.
Kees van der Berg, vice minister of mobility and transport at the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, said the program aims “to train 10,000 experts worldwide in biking and walking infrastructure in ten years.”
The Netherlands and other major donors and financial institutions are also trying to further demonstrate the economic benefits of bike and pedestrian infrastructure that landscape architects design.
“Biking is a cost-effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Active mobility programs make perfect economic sense if you look at their climate, health, and financial benefits,” said Nicholas Peltier, transport global director at the World Bank.
He pointed to research from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP). Their recent report found large-scale bike infrastructure, spanning hundreds of miles in cities, creates significant returns on investment. Looking at five leading cities — Tianjin, China: Buenos Aires, Argentina; Lima, Peru; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania — ITDP found returns range from 50 to 100 percent.
Building safe, accessible bike infrastructure also spurs on more bike use, said Rogier van der Berg, with the World Resources Institute (WRI).
For example, Buenos Aires added 43 miles (70 kilometers) of protected bike lanes to three major avenues and then saw bike use increase by 130 to 150 percent.
Sometimes, in addition to providing the infrastructure, cycling can be boosted with public awareness campaigns. In Turkey, “riding a bicycle had a stigma — that you were poor. We worked with local non-profits to change that,” van der Berg said.
According to Filip Boelaert with the government of Belgium, making continuous investments in bike infrastructure over the long-term is important.
More than a decade ago, the Flanders region of Belgium invested €100 million in their bike infrastructure. Now, that is up to €380 million this year. All that investment has increased bike use and led to the growth of e-bikes for longer journeys. The bike system also complements their growing number of pedestrian-only zones.
Peltier argued that bike infrastructure supports local economies. In many cities, bikes are used to make last-mile deliveries, supporting businesses.
Bike infrastructure can also be packaged as carbon offsets, given they are proven to take cars off the road and reduce transportation emissions. They can be a greater part of carbon finance.
Bike lanes and pedestrian friendly areas can be tools for redesigning an entire city. Bogota, Colombia is using its upgrades to reimagine its urban form and become a more livable and accessible city. Lima, Peru has added more than 238 miles (400 kilometers) of bike lanes in support of mass transit investment.
ITDP is scaling up this work worldwide through a cycling campaign it launched at COP27, with the goal of 25 million more people having access to nearby protected bike lanes by 2025. 34 major global cities have signed on, said Heather Thompson, CEO of ITDP.
“It has been proven over and over. We need designated bike lanes.” They are critical to increasing bike use among younger and older riders of all genders and abilities.
And Chiri Babu Maharjan, Mayor of Lalitpur Metropolitan City in Nepal, argued that growing a culture of biking may be just as important.
The Kathandu Valley once had a thriving cycling culture but that was diminished by the growth of motorbike riders in the 1980s. During his tenure, Mayor Maharjan has put in 37 miles (60 kilometers) of bike lanes and recently issued the city’s first tender for nearly 5 miles (8 kilometers) of protected bike lanes.
Biking has spread beyond wealthy European countries to cities across the developing world. But to address the climate crisis, the shift needs to happen more rapidly and more funding is needed.