
Sustainable Mobility
Sustainable Mobility Project aims to contribute to the development of low-carbon transportation in China, and build a green, efficient, inclusive and resilient urban mobility system.
With rapid sociodemographic changes and technological disruption, China’s transport sector will undergo radical transformations with increasing opportunities for decarbonization and sustainable development.
By 2050, China will witness considerable sociodemographic changes with the income level of Chinese residents approaching those of developed economies and the numbers of the aging population rising sharply. These sociodemographic shifts will lead to changes in travel behaviors and logistic requirements, such as the increased demands for barrier-free and demand-responsive transit services, and improved willingness for the green travel (such as biking and transit) among the environment-conscious young generation.
Further, technological breakthroughs will also create unprecedented opportunities in the transport sectors’ decarbonization. For example, with the rapid development of battery technologies, China is leading the world’s electric vehicle promotion. The advances of the artificial intelligence and big data technologies also unlock the potentials for transit service improvements and multi-modal integration through mobility-as-a-service.
To achieve sustainable and low-carbon transport, it is critical for WRI to seize these historical opportunities of the sociodemographic shifts and technological breakthroughs to accelerate China transport sector’s decarbonization, prioritize sustainable solutions and resource allocation, and foster cross-sectoral synergies.
Component 1: Low-carbon transport
Focusing on the national and subnational levels, the Program in WRI aims to support China[LX1] to accelerate the transport sector’s decarbonization by promoting new energy trucks (and vehicle grid integration), facilitating the freight mode shift from roadways to railways and waterways, and spurring the adoption of low-carbon fuels for aviation and maritime shipping.
With independent research and on-the-ground pilots, we work with national and local partners to develop medium- and long-term transport decarbonization roadmaps, formulate near-term key emission-reduction solutions, and facilitate global knowledge sharing, to achieve the low-carbon transition of China’s transport sector while ensuring social equity, fiscal sustainability, and economic prosperity.
Component 2: New Urban Mobilities
The new urban mobilities includes various shared and smart mobility modes (such as shared bikes, ride-hailing services, demand-responsive transit, autonomous driving, etc.) and intelligent mobility service systems that connect these modes to make them more efficient and convenient (e.g., Mobility-as-a-Service, MaaS). The WRI Future Mobility Projects aim to help cities develop greener, healthier, more efficient, convenient, safe, and inclusive urban mobility systems for the future. By changing behavoirs, the projects seek to contribute to WRI's goals of improving "climate," "nature," and "human well-being."