Friday, 29 March 2024
legislationNews

World Bicycle Industry Association joins WHO + UN in sustainable transport task force

The World Bicycle Industry Association (WIBA) has been invited to participate in a new task force to develop ‘Principles of Green and Healthy Sustainable Transport’.

WIBA will join the Transport, Health and Environment Pan-European Programme (THE PEP), a joint body of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations (UN), in producing these principles.

The task force deciding on Green and Healthy Sustainable Transport recommendations will comprise representatives of governments, international organisations, civil society, academia and other stakeholders, exploring long-term and strategic changes for the mobility sector.

According to WIBA, the aim is to deliver more than just a document, with the principles produced by the task force being proposed for political endorsement to governments involved in the Fifth High-Level Meeting on Transport, Health and Environment to be held in Vienna in 2021.

Erhard Büchel, CONEBI and WBIA President, said of the announcement: “New bike lanes are starting to appear in cities across Europe. We call on governments to implement permanent solutions in this regard and foresee further incentive measures, for instance subsidy schemes for bicycle and e-Bike purchase, like the one that has just been introduced in Italy. Cycling should become the new normal.”

Satoshi Yuasa, Vice President of Bicycle Association Japan (BAJ), added: “More and more utilisation of bicycles for work/commuting is surely contributing to health and the environment. The Japanese government has also initiated the action to use more bicycles for work and BAJ is preparing a campaign to promote this movement. We strongly believe that THE PEP project is expanding this positive impact out of Europe too, of course including Japan.”

The task force will meet virtually on a monthly basis and the first draft of the principles will be discussed in November 2020. Further meetings in the months after November will be set to finalise the principles.

WBIA is committed to advocate for more sustainable mobility globally, working with national authorities and world multilateral institutions to, “sustain the role of cycling as the best solution to the challenges that the world is currently facing.”

“Today, an unprecedented number of Americans are experiencing the rewards of bicycling,” said Tim Blumenthal, President of PeopleForBikes. “They’re improving their physical and mental health, and they’re saving money as they travel safely and efficiently in a world shaped by the Covid-19 pandemic. They’re helping to reduce air pollution and address climate change.

“Now more than ever, bicycling is a multi-faceted solution that should be prioritised by government leaders around the globe.”