- Emissions from mobility will increase through 2050, jeopardising our chances to combat climate change.
- By electrifying urban fleets, we can mitigate more than 70% of mobility CO2 urban emissions, remove 50% of city air pollution, and electrify rides to everyone – making the electrification transition more effective and equitable.
- A new initiative, the Zero Emissions Urban Fleets (ZEUF) network, will catalyse high-impact decarbonisation by syncing public, private and third-party efforts to electrify fleets in cities.
- In 2021, the network will focus on placing European city actors on path to achieve a 50% and 100% urban fleets electrification by 2025 and 2030, respectively.
Without drastic action, emissions from mobility are on track to double by 2050 – making climate change irreversible and leading to a global misery greater than the pandemic.
During the recent COVID-19 crisis, a growing number of cities announced their plans to forge multi-modal sustainable urban mobility ecosystems, with public transport and active travel as a critical city-supported backbone. Electrification is a key part of these plans. To accomplish these goals, electrifying fleets provide a unique opportunity to scale change.
“If high-kilometre vehicles in cities electrify at scale, we may stand a chance at climate change and clean urban air,” said Dr. Christoph Wolff, the World Economic Forum’s Head of Mobility Industries and System Initiative.
How is the World Economic Forum helping to scale vehicle electrification?
Emissions from mobility will increase through 2050, jeopardising our chances to combat climate change. By electrifying urban fleets, we can mitigate more than 70% of mobility CO2 urban emissions, remove 50% of city air pollution, and electrify rides to everyone – making the electrification transition more effective and equitable.
Understanding that coordination is needed to create tangible progress, this February the World Economic Forum launched a collaborative umbrella network that will help sync and synergize related global initiatives: the Zero Emissions Urban Fleets (ZEUF) network.
ZEUF is a network of stakeholders for accelerating urban fleets electrification, targeting 100% by 2030. Initiated by the World Economic Forum’s Global New Mobility Coalition in partnership with Uber, T&E, EuroCities, Free Now, LeasePlan, Door2Door, Lime, Blot, Voi, AEDIVE, Polis, The Climate Group, Race to Zero, and others, ZEUF is an open network that convenes periodically to facilitate informal know-how exchange and efforts coordination.
Where fleets fit in
The electric vehicle (EV) transition is gaining momentum but change will be gradual. According to current forecasts, just 8% of the 1.4 billion passenger vehicles on road in 2030 will be electric. At that pace, electrifying private vehicles won’t happen quickly enough to halt global warming below a 2 degree increase (let alone the desired 1.5).
Fleets, however, offer a special opportunity to scale progress. By electrifying fleets, we can accelerate electrification by 3-4 times during the next decade. Fleet operators and facilitators – from buses and microtransit to ride-hailing platforms, taxies, delivery vehicles, lease firms and fleet operators – represent increasing buying power. As facilitators of urban fleets, they are capable of propelling a greater variety of zero emissions vehicles selection at a faster production rate.
“The role of business in driving the electric vehicle market is crucial.”
—Sandra Roling, Head of Transport, Climate Group
Furthermore, fleets offer a special opportunity to make progress on emissions. By electrifying urban fleets, we can mitigate more than 70% of mobility CO2 urban emissions, remove 50% of city air pollution, and electrify rides for everyone – making the electrification transition more effective and equitable.
“Two-thirds of new vehicles in Europe are bought for company fleets, which means the role of business in driving the electric vehicle market is crucial,” said Sandra Roling, Head of Transport at the Climate Group, an international non-profit.
