As the climate crisis grows, so do the scale and urgency of the changes we must implement. With this in mind, high-level leaders in mobility from the public and private sector gathered in Prague for the POLIS Leadership Summit on 30 May 2024 to address the pressing issues of sustainable urban and regional transport.
Katalin Walter, EMTA President and CEO of BKK Centre for Budapest Transport, joined a panel discussion together with Matthew Baldwin (DG Energy – European Commission), Paul Riley (European Investment Bank), Thomas Deloison (World Business Council for Sustainable Development) and Markéta Braun Kohlová (City of Prague), on how to spend money in the most impactful way to enhance urban mobility.
While there is a strong need to invest in future solutions to achieve net-zero goals, we face the challenge of addressing past underinvestment in mobility measures. The panel identified three key obligations: continuing to finance public transport as the backbone of sustainable transport, supporting citizens’ access to sustainable modes, and financing low-carbon vehicles and energy sources. Public transport development, especially in suburban areas, remains essential – in Prague, for example, 80 % of the modal share occurs in the suburbs. New European measures to finance capital expenditures for new modes, alongside discussions on privatisation, were also addressed.
The three other panels of the summit discussed the issues of technology, public space and people.