The initiative is part of the EUROCLIMA+ programme and is the first step towards sustainable mobility in Chile with a multi-sectoral approach.
Santiago, Chile, 16 December 2021. - The Government of Chile, through the Roads and Urban Transport Programme (SECTRA) of the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications, launched its National Strategy for Sustainable Mobility (ENMS), a public policy document that includes the vision, objectives and measures to articulate the different actors involved in this area. This through a roadmap that will allow addressing the main gaps and challenges in moving towards sustainable mobility in Chile.
The development of this Strategy is framed in the cooperation project “National Strategy for Sustainable Mobility and National Urban Mobility Programme for the Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change in Chile”, which is part of the EUROCLIMA+ programme, financed by the European Union and implemented with technical assistance from German International Cooperation, GIZ.
This framework project has three components or areas for development:
- Preparation of the National Strategy for Sustainable Mobility;
- Design and implementation of a targeted investment programme; and
- Development of studies for the improvement of reporting, verification, and monitoring (MRV) processes for emissions generated by the transport sector in Chile.
The Strategy sets the technical and political guidelines for the local implementation of sustainable mobility measures through the definition of key concepts, the identification of the main challenges at country level in the field, the generation of a long-term vision, the introduction of the necessary change approach, the specific objectives of the Strategy, and finally, the selection and description of measures as well as their possible implementation mechanisms. It is a guiding document for the design of the investment programme, which will act as a tool for the implementation of the Strategy.
"Our vision is that by 2050, Chile will have transport systems and urban development that together enable sustainable and fair mobility in our cities. No one will be left behind and the cities will be an engine of equitable development", commented Gisèle Labarthe, Executive Secretary of SECTRA, during the launch event for the presentation of the ENMS.
Urban mobility with a multi-sectoral approach
The Strategy had a preparation process of approximately three years, including the development of a comprehensive diagnostic document on the state of sustainable mobility in Chile, the dialogue between different sectoral actors, and the technical support for the consolidation of the document by a specialised consultant.
From its conception, the Strategy has aimed for a multi-sectoral approach. It complements other existing strategies in the sector, such as the Electromobility Strategy. At the same time, it is linked to laws and policies in other sectors such as urban development, housing, health, energy and others that together generate an important link between the sector and the commitments and definitions that Chile has assumed with regard to mitigation and adaptation to the climate crisis and its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).
These include the Long-Term Climate Strategy, which has also received support from the EUROCLIMA+ Programme, as well as the future Regional Plans for Climate Change.
"What they are raising about coordination, about how we work, about the fact that this is not a single solution, is something that the Long-Term Climate Strategy touches on. It recognises the National Strategy for Sustainable Mobility and how transport, together with other ministries, is going to advance this," added Carolina Urmeneta, head of the climate change office in the Ministry of Environment.
Why a National Strategy for Sustainable Mobility? The challenges of Mobility in Chile
Urban mobility is responsible for a significant share of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that contribute to climate change and is one of the fastest growing sectors in recent years.
In the framework of international agreements to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Chile has committed to reach its maximum annual emissions in 2025, which implies that it must reduce its annual emissions by at least 24% of what it emitted in 2018. An important part of this effort must come from the transport sector.
During the launch event, Gloria Hutt, Minister of Transport and Telecommunications, presented an overview of the transport and mobility challenges in Chile and how the National Sustainable Mobility Strategy aims to address them.
23% of the emissions we need to reduce come from the transport sector. We have a huge responsibility to find ways of working that will allow us to be effective in reducing these emissions," added Gloria Hutt.
The ENMS allows the generation of action points and the establishment of clear targets to achieve carbon neutrality in the sector through concrete measures.
Next steps
The next steps for the project are to establish the strategies for the implementation of the ENMS, initiate the design of the investment programme and strengthen the linkage with new actors, processes that will be carried out during the first half of 2022.
The design of the programme will be accompanied by a participatory process in which territorially differentiated trends and priorities for achieving sustainable mobility at city level will be identified. This programme will identify mechanisms to finance concrete actions to facilitate the transition to carbon neutral mobility, providing criteria and guidance for regions and cities to set their priorities and specific targets.
The programme, which will be framed within the national investment system, will allow the ENMS to be projected in the long term, generating an avenue for access to financing and project development at an appropriate standard.
"We are building this strategy to achieve the goal that the country has committed to and that the next generations expect to see realised as a contribution and a responsibility that we have been given," said the Minister of Transport and Telecommunications.
This strategy is the first step towards sustainable mobility in Chile and it opens a space for multi-sectoral collaboration in which coordination at horizontal and vertical levels will be necessary, an opportunity that is favoured in the process of strengthening decentralisation in the country. There are diverse challenges, but this Strategy establishes a look from the sector and with it a request to start the transition.
You can download the National Sustainable Mobility Strategy directly from the following link: https://www.subtrans.gob.cl/enms/
You can watch the event to launch the ENMS below:
About EUROCLIMA+
EUROCLIMA+ is a programme funded by the European Union and co-financed by the German federal government through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as well as by the governments of France and Spain through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.
The Programme's mission is to reduce the impact of climate change and its effects in 18 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, promoting mitigation, adaptation, resilience and climate investment. It is implemented according to the "Spirit of Team Europe" under the synergistic work of seven agencies: the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the French Development Agency (AFD), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Expertise France (EF), the International and Ibero-America Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) GmbH, and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
For more information:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.euroclimaplus.org
www.euroclimaplus.org/movilidad