IRF member SWARCO supports joint statement to COP27 climate summit

Major road sector organisations such as ASECAP, IRF Geneva, ERTICO, ERF, IRU and ARMFA agree on a joint statement to the Sharm El-Sheik climate summit community

Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals depends on efficient multi-modal transport systems and services where roads play a central role. Effective road transport, road networks, tunnels and bridges, and the associated services are thus essential to ensure the sustainable mobility of people and goods and to ensure we leave no one behind.

The road sector has already undertaken enormous efforts to significantly reduce its environmental footprint while ensuring business continuity. We, leading organisations in the sector, have come together today to restate our firm commitment to effectively reduce CO2 emissions to net-zero by 2050 in line with the Paris Agreement.

We believe that NOW is the time to act with pragmatism, ensure a just transition, and embrace innovation. 

ROAD SECTOR JOINT STATEMENT FOR COP27

For this, we need to:

  • Embrace system thinking and decarbonise without compromising the services we provide and without undermining a network (roads, tunnels and bridges) that serves all other transport modes, including active mobility and mass transport.

  • Invest in hard infrastructure (such as missing links, network upgrades, underground transport and border crossings) and soft measures (such as regulations, ICTs, standards, and the exchange of information) and remove bottlenecks of any nature.

  • Take regional and local specificities into consideration. Countries, cities, have different transport and energy landscapes, with widely different challenges.

  • Develop adequate and targeted incentives to encourage faster uptake of the best available technology and practices and to research & develop new solutions.

  • Enhance efficiency improvements at all levels through wider use of digitalisation and ITS.

  • Put in place an adequate energy and technology mix and strategies that are flexible and backed up by agile financing mechanisms that can support the transition towards more resilient and sustainable transport.

  • Increase financial support to adapt and upgrade existing infrastructure to both the threats posed by climate change but also to the adjustments that the energy transition requires.

  • Develop the institutional capacity and labour force skills to plan and deliver change. As shown during the pandemic, new levels of agility and pragmatic approaches are possible and must be pursued.

The industry is committed and ready to do its part, but we cannot do it alone.
​​​​​​​We call on all parties to join us in taking action and create together a conducive environment for the road sector to deliver on the Paris Agreement.