The Partnership for Active Travel and Health (PATH) coalition has launched Walking and Cycling Regional Fact Sheets, supported by the FIA Foundation.

The fact sheets are a new set of knowledge tools to support national and regional policymakers in committing to walking and cycling in the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). NDCs are the formal carbon reduction commitments governments make within the UNFCCC climate change framework process and the new factsheets are built upon the on PATH’s 2023 report analysing walking and cycling policies in all 197 UNFCCC countries. The new resource features a comprehensive set of infographics analysing NDCs, National Walking Policy (NWP), and National Cycling Policy (NCP) across six regions, detailing their objectives, actions, investments, and evaluations. The six regions covered by the fact sheets are African, Eastern Mediterranean, European, the Americas, South East Asia, and Western Pacific.

The regional fact sheets complement PATH’s Active Travel NDC Template and the dashboard visualising data from PATH’s 2023 report, both launched in May of this year in advance of the International Transport Forum Summit. The regional fact sheets are a timely addition, as the next NDC submission runs from November 2024, when COP29 will take place in Azerbaijan, to February 2025, ahead of COP30 in Brazil. They further illustrate the progress made by countries in integrating walking and cycling strategies into their policy frameworks, facilitate direct comparisons between countries and pinpoint areas requiring additional investment and ambition.

Sheila Watson, FIA Foundation Deputy Director, announced the launch in Ghent at the European Cyclists’ Federation Velo-city conference to an audience of over 1,500 public officials, NGOs, cycling advocates, companies and academics from over 60 countries. The fact sheets were launched during the high-level plenary session ‘Cycling strategies - Joining national and international forces’, which also included: Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister Georges Gilkinet; European Commission Director General of DG MOVE Magda Kopczyńska; Director of the Department of Transport Strategy at the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure Adrian Mazur; Cycling Industries Europe CEO Kevin Mayne; and moderation by Jill Warren, ECF CEO.

“Enabling more people to walk and cycle safely and to access public transport can cut transport emissions in half by 2030 and contribute significantly to achieving the Paris Agreement,” said Sheila Watson during the event. “Yet PATH’s groundbreaking research shows that walking and cycling is significantly undervalued in countries’ NDCs. Even though two-thirds of nations have active travel policies in place, there remains an urgent need for increased ambition, action, and investment to fully unlock the benefits of walking and cycling for climate targets. Our regional fact sheets, dashboard, reports and NDC template are unique resources that provide valuable support to governments in comparing and benchmarking their existing policies. We urge countries to take full advantage of them to commit to walking and cycling in the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).”

Jim Walker, Founder of Walk21, said: “The fact sheets are a further tool to support governments in becoming more ambitious and impactful with their NDCs. Along with PATH’s report and NDC template, they inform and guide policymakers in maximising the potential of active travel for reducing transport emissions in a quick, affordable, and reliable way.”

Jill Warren, ECF CEO, added: “As a founding partner of PATH, ECF is delighted to showcase PATH’s latest knowledge tools and share them with the global cycling community at our annual flagship Velo-city conference. We call on policymakers and advocates to use them to evaluate and build active mobility into new commitments to walking and cycling to meet climate goals and improve people’s health and lives.”