As it continues to promote cycling as a healthy and sustainable means of transport, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has signed an agreement with the influential SLOCAT Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport.
The UCI joins the partnership alongside a vibrant international, multi-stakeholder ecosystem of over 90 entities across transport sector associations, knowledge and academia, governments, multilateral organisations, NGOs, philanthropy and industry, as well as a large community of world-class experts and change-makers.
This new step is in line with the UCI’s Cycling for All mission to highlight the green benefits of the bicycle. It will further enable the Federation to join with other international organisations to advocate for and speak on behalf of cycling.
Established in 2009, SLOCAT’s mission is to enable collaborative knowledge and action for sustainable, low carbon transport and bring the voice of the movement into international climate change and sustainability processes. With a primary focus on land transport, and a geographic footprint targeted at the Global South, SLOCAT delivers on its mission through 3 mutually-reinforcing work streams: knowledge and policy analysis, advocacy and engagement, and dialogue and networking. In addition, SLOCAT champions frameworks that primarily avoid unnecessary transport, while shifting to low carbon modes and improving vehicle design, fuel efficiency and energy sources.
Among its many deliverables, SLOCAT leads the production of the Transport and Climate Change Global Status Report (TCC-GSR), a biennial flagship report illustrating global trends in transport demand and emissions and showcasing policy targets and measures across global regions. The report demonstrates that the climate change mitigation efforts required to reach Paris Agreement targets are closely tied to transport decarbonisation. The latest edition, published at the end of 2018, offers policy makers and practitioners a compilation of 180 policy examples from over 70 countries.
The current pandemic has also greatly influenced transport modes – in many cases leading to a cycling boom around the world – and SLOCAT has been closely following these trends, gathering relevant information, resources, and virtual events on COVID-19 and its impacts on transport, all of which can be found here.
As part of this new partnership, the UCI is committed to contributing knowledge, tools and ideas in order to promote the use of the bicycle as a sustainable, accessible and healthy low carbon transport solution for communities worldwide. The partnership will also maximise collaboration opportunities using social media campaigns and milestones such as World Bicycle Day and World Environment Day.
SLOCAT Secretary General Maruxa Cardama welcomed the UCI to the partnership: "We are pleased to welcome the Union Cycliste Internationale to our partnership and look forward to embracing the insights and expertise they will bring on cycling into our work. We will be able to jointly set ambitious global agendas and catalyse new thinking and solutions for the urgent transformation of transport and mobility systems."
Follow the SLOCAT Partnership on www.slocat.net and on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn @SLOCATOfficial.