We are most pleased to invite you to participate in an evening of discussion on how public and private stakeholders can cooperate in order to achieve an emission-free mobility model in Europe with our distinguished speakers:
- Deputy Director General Matthew Baldwin, DG MOVE,
- Dr Olivia Gippner, Policy Assistant, Office of the Deputy DG Clara de la Torre, DG CLIMA,
- Ms Julia Poliscanova, Senior Director, Vehicles and Emobility, Transport & Environment
- Ms Joanne Kubba, Senior Director EMEA Public Policy, Uber.
Director General Henrik Hololei, DG MOVE will hold a keynote speech.
The discussion will be moderated by Ms Karen Vancluysen, Secretary General of Polis, Cities and Regions for Transport and Innovation.
Given the current developments regarding the Covid-19 outbreak, this event will be held in streaming.
This event is co-organised with
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About the debate
Before the outbreak of the pandemic, cities in Europe and all over the world were in the midst of a “mobility renaissance”. New shared modes of mobility were increasingly embraced by users, offering convenient, eco-friendly alternatives for commuting and urban travel. However, mobility patterns changed with the Corona crisis, as people sought individual means of transport to reduce safety risks, including by returning to personal cars. Public transport had to reshape its operations and digital mobility providers had to adapt their services, introducing new safety measures.
At the same time, European citizens have appreciated breathing fresh air, reduced pollution and traffic noise, thanks to having fewer cars on the streets, while cities took bold steps overnight, reclaiming public space in favour of shared and active mobility modes. This glimpse of what our cities could look like should lead to long-term policies that can unlock sustainable behaviours. Indeed, providing a zero-emission mobility system that is affordable and has minimal impacts on our health, climate and the environment for mobility users will be essential to reaching the EU’s increased ambition of reducing emissions by 55% in the next decade. Europe can lead the way in our global target to create more liveable cities, as enshrined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals and celebrated on the first International Day of Clean Air which took place on September 7.
As highlighted in President von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech, Europe has to engage with the technological and environmental transitions we are currently experiencing by fostering a robust economic recovery necessary to counterbalance the impacts of the outbreak of Covid-19. Within this context, and given that the transport sector is the backbone of our economy and society, but also the only sector to grow its emissions since 1990, innovative mobility solutions from both the public and private sectors should not only contribute towards enhancing the EU’s resilience to any future emergency, but also ensure access to safe and emission-free mobility for all.
Indeed, the recovery and upcoming Smart and Sustainable Mobility Strategy presents an opportunity to rethink mobility, create a more sustainable future and foster the uptake of electric vehicles, including for high-kilometre commercial journeys. Providing European citizens with cleaner and greener choices will be crucial to increasing the sustainability of the transport sector, while digital platforms can provide access to sustainable options on the EU’s way to recovery. However, the target of making emission-free mobility accessible to everyone should be reflected in a comprehensive strategy for mobility across Europe.
The Chatham House rule will not apply to this event.
The event will commence at 6.00 pm and it will be held in streaming.
The audience will be able to ask questions during both the discussion and the Q&A session through sli.do #ZeroEmission
Please specify, whenever possible, to which speaker you wish to address the question. Questions without this specification will be intended as to be addressed to the panel as a whole.
We look forward to hosting you at 6.00 pm on the 14th of October 2020.
