Mobility

The increase in traffic is not only harmful to the climate: particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and traffic noise also jeopardise people's health, especially in cities. A change of direction is essential and sustainable mobility concepts are needed.

The roads around the world are becoming increasingly crowded: the transport sector is expected to expand rapidly over the next few decades. In terms of passenger kilometres, global transport performance is expected to more than double between 2015 and 2050; freight volumes will probably triple over the same period.

The vehicle population is expected to be around 2.4 billion by 2050 - in 2015, one billion vehicles were counted. This forecast was published by the International Transport Forum (ITF) in its annual "Transport Outlook" 2017.

Reduce oil consumption - promote sustainable mobility concepts

In terms of climate protection, the prospects are also alarming: if greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector continue unchecked, they will increase by up to 60 per cent by 2050. Such a development would be a major setback for climate protection.
The transport sector currently accounts for 23 per cent of global CO2 emissions. In Europe, transport accounts for around 20 per cent, in Germany 18 per cent. The reason for the high figures is the still immensely high oil consumption. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), oil accounts for 93 per cent of final energy consumption in the transport sector worldwide. In Europe, too, oil is the key resource for mobility; it covers 96 per cent of the transport sector's energy requirements (source: GreenTech made in Germany, 2018, p. 36).

Reduce air pollutants

The increase in traffic, especially road traffic, is not only harmful to the climate: particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and traffic noise also jeopardise people's health, especially in cities. Air pollutants cause the death of over 3.5 million people worldwide every year. Between 2005 and 2010, the number of deaths rose by four per cent; this development is partly due to the increasing smog in China and India. In Germany, particulate matter pollution is responsible for 42,000 premature deaths and over 300,000 years of healthy life lost (source: GreenTech made in Germany, 2018, p. 37).

Change course now

A change of direction is therefore essential. Transport-related energy consumption must be decoupled from transport-related greenhouse gas emissions in order to minimise damage to people and the environment. New technologies and sustainable mobility concepts - combined with further digitalisation of the transport sector - offer the opportunity to make mobility climate-friendly and environmentally friendly.