The G20 summit agenda on urban development has highlighted the need for accelerating work and prioritising investment on sustainable transport and active mobility.  

Leaders from governments and cities across the world’s largest economies were meeting in Rio de Janeiro in the ‘U20’ track of the G20 summit, responding to the challenges raised by the fast pace of urbanisation globally. Following the urban development track, the City of Rio hosted the summit of world leaders on 18 and 19 November.  

Participating in the urban development discussions, the FIA Foundation, ITDP and the City of Rio, jointly led a session on the need to accelerate action and financing on safe active mobility and sustainable transport.  

The FIA Foundation had led and coordinated a detailed policy brief input into the G20 summit on financing safe and sustainable mobility which was also reflected in the communique on urban development. The policy brief input accepted by the G20, outlined how financing for road safety and active mobility should be a priority for increased development financing, to be made more accessible and responsive to cities and their needs.  

The urban communique was launched by Brazil President Lula da Silva, together with Rio’s Mayor Eduardo Paes, and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and leaders from around the world. It calls for strengthened finance outlining the need for $800 billion in annual public investment from national governments and development finance institutions for more effective urban development by 2030. Alongside clean energy and climate-resilient infrastructure, the priority of investing in low-emission transport and active mobility was highlighted.  

At the FIA Foundation’s session, effective work to finance and implement road safety and active mobility in cities globally was presented. In particular, under Mayor Eduardo Paes’s administration, the City of Rio had worked effectively with the World Bank to finance its policies on safe and sustainable mobility, providing a strong example of the kind of financing that is more generally needed for cities around the world.  

The work built upon initial funding from the FIA Foundation for school area road safety in Rio. Following on from smaller scale project work supported by the Foundation in partnership with ITDP and city authorities, a $135.2 million World Bank financing package was agreed and launched in 2022 to scale-up work on safe and sustainable mobility.  

City of Rio Transportation Secretary Maína Celidonio joined FIA Foundation Deputy Director Avi Silverman, and World Bank transportation specialist Bernardo Serra in a panel moderated by ITDP Brasil Active Mobility Director Danielle Hoppe. Other key partners were iRAP and WRI Brasil.  

Transportation Secretary Maína Celidonio said: “At the City of Rio we are prioritising safe active mobility. It has been very important to work with the World Bank, together with our partners ITDP and the FIA Foundation. Like many cities worldwide we face challenges, we need road safety for people who walk and cycle, and we need to connect this to public transport so that we can accelerate our work to achieve the climate and sustainable development objectives which are vital for us.”  

FIA Foundation Deputy Director Avi Silverman said: “With partners here in Rio, we’re seeing an expansion of work in the most vital of areas – particularly in providing safe road infrastructure around schools, ensuring that children can walk safely in their neighbourhoods, in work to develop and expand safe active mobility. This work is of critical importance both for sustainable development and climate agendas, but there is of course much more to be done.  

As we’re seeing around the world, too often this work is not financed and scaled-up effectively. This is why it’s so important to be raising this agenda for strengthened and improved financing on safe, sustainable mobility at the G20.”  

Alongside the session and the submission to the G20, was a briefing specifically on active mobility from the partners – ITDP, FIA Foundation, WRI Brasil, and Brazilian NGO Alana. It presented key data on active mobility outlining the high rates of return in cities that have invested in infrastructure for safe active mobility around the world.  

Leading organisations coordinating and participating in the urban track of the G20 included Bloomberg Philanthropies, C40 Cities and the Global Covenant of Mayors. They announced their support for the Brazilian Federal Government’s “Green and Resilient Cities Program” which includes sustainable urban mobility as one of six thematic areas. By the COP30 climate change summit in 2025, also hosted by Brazil, this initiative aims to support 100 priority climate action projects in 50 Brazilian cities.  

To read the Urban communique for the Brazil G20 Presidency click here.

To read the FIA Foundation and partners input on financing safe and sustainable mobility to the 2024 G20 click here.

To read the active mobility briefing that accompanied the session click here.