Transforming Transport, Ten Years On: Time to Recalculate the Route to the Future? (Episode 1)

Just over ten years ago, in December 2015, the international community ratified the Paris Agreement. Shortly thereafter, Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation founded Agora Verkehrswende, the Berlin-based think tank for climate-neutral mobility. This year thus marks the tenth anniversary of our founding – and the start of the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport.

It is a fitting moment to step back and consider the big picture. In this podcast series, we will converse with thought leaders in the world of sustainable transport, reviewing progress achieved to date while also looking to the decade ahead. 

In the first episode, which is devoted to geopolitics and international cooperation, we will speak with Daniel Sperling, founding Director emeritus of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis (ITS-Davis). ITS-Davis is one of the world’s leading academic research centres for sustainable transport. For 16 years, Sperling was also a member of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), a global leader in ambitious climate, transport, and environmental policy. Christian Hochfeld, Director of Agora Verkehrswende, will lead the conversation in English.

Our first publication, Transforming Transport to Ensure Tomorrow’s Mobility (2017), presented a 12-point strategy for decarbonizing the transport sector. This study has informed our activities over the past decade and will serve as a springboard for the podcast discussion. Specifically, we aim to revisit our strategic orientation while considering options for revamping associated policy approaches. Three questions will figure prominently in the podcast discussion: What has been achieved thus far? What challenge did we underestimate the most initially? How can we accelerate progress over the next ten years to achieve a climate-neutral transport sector in Germany by 2045? 

Over six episodes, the podcast series will address a range of topics, including urban development and sustainable mobility; electric mobility and industrial transformation; alternative fuels and air and sea transport; rural mobility and autonomous vehicles; and infrastructure and sustainable finance. 

Future podcast dates will be communicated at the events section of our website and via the German edition of our newsletter. Please note that only the first episode will be in English; the others will be in German.

We look forward to your attendance of the first podcast episode.