The 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, otherwise known as COP31, is taking place in Antalya, Türkiye, until 20 November 2026. Presided over by Türkiye, with Australia leading the negotiations, it is the first COP of the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026-2035), and one the Presidency has framed around implementation rather than target-setting. According to the Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLOCAT), transport produces around 16% of global greenhouse gas emissions and still draws more than 95% of its energy from fossil fuels.
As a founding member of the Partnership for Active Travel and Health (PATH) and a member of SLOCAT, the UCI supports both partnerships in their efforts to put walking and cycling at the heart of the transport agenda in Antalya.
The PATH to Net Zero: from ambition to action
PATH is a coalition calling on governments and cities to commit to walking and cycling as a key solution to the climate, health and equity challenges they face, including through their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Over a third of the countries of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have done so, but PATH research shows that many still lack proper mechanisms to steer investment and ensure maximum impact. Putting these in place can help mitigate climate change, support public transport, reduce pollution, save lives and improve public health.
The UN Environment Programme’s latest Emissions Gap Report finds that warming will now exceed the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal, with even the best-case scenario seeing temperatures hit 1.7 to 1.8°C by mid-century. Urgent, deep emissions cuts are needed to limit how far and for how long temperatures stay above that threshold, and walking and cycling have a key role to play, with the potential to help cut transport emissions in half by 2030.
With its COP31 campaign, The PATH to Net Zero: Make way for walking and cycling, PATH urges national governments to turn ambition into action by focusing on funding and implementation, and offers two tools to help them do so:
Fund + Evaluate: the Measuring Active Travel Success Implementation Guide, the world’s first comprehensive measuring system for active travel, helps governments build a strong business case, ensure accountability and target resources effectively.
Implement + Deliver: the Active Travel Policy Template, already adopted by many national governments, is a step-by-step guide to setting goals, objectives, actions, measures and outcomes.
SLOCAT: a single voice for transport in Antalya
On site, SLOCAT is hosting the Transport Pavilion in the Blue Zone with Sistema Transporte, and supporting Türkiye’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure with transport-related engagement. Its briefing, Transport @ COP31 – The Case for Action, sets out why climate goals will not be achieved without sustainable transport, calling for “Avoid and Shift” measures such as compact cities, public and shared transport, and safer walking and cycling. SLOCAT is also launching a consultative process at COP31 towards a Global Goal for Transport.
Carly Gilbert-Patrick, Secretary General of SLOCAT and a member of the UCI Cycling for All and Sustainable Cycling Commission, said: “Walking and cycling are how billions of people already get around, especially in the Global South. Yet they are still treated as an afterthought in many climate plans, while lacking funding and adequate infrastructure. Through the latest efforts by PATH, we want to change that, starting here at COP31. The work shows that cycling is one of the most effective tools we have to cut transport emissions, while also making cities healthier, fairer and more affordable to move around.”
PATH’s activities at COP31 include:
10 November – Making Active Travel Count (Walk21 and PATH)
13 November – Roads for Everyone: Delivering Inclusive and Accessible Road Networks (IRF, with PATH, Walk21, ECF, ICLEI and others)
14 November – From Vision to Delivery: Scaling Active Mobility and Public Transport for Climate Action (SLOCAT and PATH)
The full programme of transport events is available on SLOCAT’s COP31 events tracker.
More people riding, more often, on safer roads
The messages carried by PATH and SLOCAT in Antalya echo the UCI’s own commitments. Launched in October, the 2026 UCI Cycling for All Manifesto affirms that cycling must be systematically integrated into transport, health and environmental policies, backed by sustained investment and long-term strategy. It calls on public authorities to develop and adopt cycling-friendly policies and to invest in safe, inclusive infrastructure.
Sharing PATH’s objective of turning ambition into action, the UCI supports cities through the UCI Bike City Label, which counts 31 cities and regions in 16 countries across all five continents, and the UCI Bike City Pathway, a roadmap with case studies for fostering a bike-friendly environment.
As COP31 marks the first year of the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport, the UCI remains committed to its mission of getting more people on bikes, more often, on safer roads, and to making cycling a driving force for healthier people, more liveable cities and regions, and a more sustainable future.
Photo Credit: UN Climate Change - Kiara Worth