Interview

Climate

How can we reconcile mobility and climate action?

  • François  Gemenne

    François Gemenne

    Member of the IPCC and co-director of the Defense & Climate Observatory at IRIS Scientific Advisor

20 February 2024

François Gemenne, IPCC Member & Co-Director of the Observatoire Défense et Climat at IRIS, reveals the keys to combining mobility and climate action

How can we reconcile mobility and climate action?

People move increasingly from one place to another. In itself, this is a good thing: it brings a lot of social, economic and cultural benefits. But it comes at a cost: the cost of increasing greenhouse gas emissions. This is the reason why, if we want to address the emissions from the transportation sector, we need to make mobility more efficient, less carbon intensive.

How can mobility contribute to other aspects of climate action?

Transportation will affect urban design, adaptation planning, the way we live, the way we eat. All of this is obviously connected through transportation and therefore, there are huge challenges when it comes to the role that transportation can actually play in helping cities adapt and reduce their emissions.

What will mobility look like in the future?

People are afraid that climate action will translate for them into increasing costs and less mobility. This is the reason why I think it is exactly the right time to launch The Mobility Sphere because we will need to solve that dilemma, we will need to show that reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the mobility sector is not a constraint but can also be an opportunity for a better transport.

What is The Mobility Sphere about?

The Mobility Sphere is about gathering a wide range of actors involved in mobility, from both the private and the public sector, from providers to users. The goal is to make them think together about what would be the best way to achieve a just transition in the mobility sector.