Connecting Informal Transport to the Climate Agenda: Key Opportunities for Action

June 14, 2023  •  1-2pm GMT // 4-5pm EAT  •  Online

Last year VREF launched its new program on Informal & Shared Mobility in Low-and Middle Income Countries (ISM). The main objective of the ISM program is to contribute to strengthening equity and sustainability in urban transport by supporting research that creates new knowledge to better inform stakeholders to govern, design or develop informal and shared mobility, thereby contributing to better access to goods and services for all.

Another aim is to support linking key researchers and practitioners strengthening knowledge exchange and building networks.Therefore, the purpose of this Research Forum is two-fold. First, we would like to share the latest knowledge product developed by the program. Second, we would like to encourage discussion and identify opportunities where research can close knowledge gaps and lead to policy action.

The first ISM Research Forum will focus on the link between climate and informal transport. So far, there has been little attention paid to the impact of Informal transport – from motorcycle taxis to buses – on climate change and the potential opportunities for decarbonization. The World Resource Institute (WRI) recently conducted a study on the current state of knowledge and policy action in the informal transport sector, identifying areas that require attention for transport decarbonization. During this research forum key findings from the WRI report will be shared and discussed with key global experts in transport and climate change.

You can find the report here (pdf)

The discussion will cover the pathways to enhancing policy action and closing the knowledge gaps related to the informal transport sector.

PROGRAM

Welcome and introduction: Henrik Nolmark, VREF Director
Moderator: Holger Dalkmann, VREF Strategic Adviser

PRESENTATION

”Connecting Informal Transport to the Climate Agenda: Key Opportunities for Action” 
Presenter: Iman Abubaker, WRI Africa

Panelists:
Gail Jennings, Research Consultant, South Africa
MJ Thinus Booysen, Research Chair in the Internet of Things, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Mohamed Hegazy,  Transport Lead, Climate Champions Team, Cairo, Egypt

GENERAL PLENARY DISCUSSION