Mobility and Sustainability.

In 2004 the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) presented its most recent study on traffic in the future. The final report of the "Sustainable Mobility 2030" project is called "Mobility 2030 – Mastering the Challenges of Sustainability". The WBCSD, whose founder members include Volkswagen, is a grouping of 170 international companies who are following the shared goal of sustainable development with the three pillars of economic growth, ecological equilibrium and social progress.

In 2000 twelve companies from the car and energy industries, including Volkswagen, started to draw up possible solutions for sustainable mobility of people, goods and services on the roads in industrialised and take-off countries. The report notes that in future traffic will have to behave differently than today if the current development continues. Sustainable mobility can be achieved, but not by one company, one industry or one country alone; it requires cooperation from all areas of society is one of the summaries of the study. Since then, the study has been discussed intensively at conferences and symposiums on energy and traffic policy, e.g. the EU Conference "Energy in Motion" in Amsterdam in October 2004 and the World Bank/WRI Workshop on Urban Transport in Washington in January 2005.

Initiative for More Sustainable Development Demanded
In the report it is clear that there is no single solution for achieving sustainable mobility. Radical changes in the sector of motor vehicle and fuel technology will be added to the mix. In total, seven goals were proposed, which will greatly improve the possibilities for sustainable mobility if they are achieved:

• The reduction of conventional traffic emissions to a level at which pollutants harmful to health will no longer be of importance anywhere in the world.
• The reduction of traffic-induced greenhouse gas emissions to a sustainable level.
• A clear reduction of traffic deaths and injuries worldwide.
• The reduction of traffic-induced noise.
• The prevention of traffic jams.
• The reduction of the "mobility gap" in individual countries as well as between the poorest and richest countries.
• The improvement of mobility options for the population in industrialised and developing countries.

For the companies, these goals form the framework of a global initiative for a more sustainable development of the worldwide transport systems in the 21st century.

Sir Charles Nicholson, Chairman of the Sustainable Mobility Project Working Group managing the project expressed similar views. There was no miracle solution for sustainable mobility, he said, but thanks to the study we were clear about the technological solutions for achieving it thanks to the study. Ultimately, society would decide which solution is used, how much it could cost and how quickly it could be brought about. "The dialogue between politicians, industry and users of mobility is the only route to success; a very important element for positive changes is primarily a change in direction towards clean technology in developing countries," said Nicholson.