Mobility in Transition Institute

The transport sector is responsible for a quarter of CO₂ emissions worldwide1 . For more than a century, the mobility of goods and people has been characterised by the predominance of road transport, which accounts for 70%2 of transport-related emissions worldwide, and 85% in France. Decarbonising road transport is therefore a major challenge in the transition needed to respond to the climate emergency.

Created in 2023 after a two-year incubation period within IDDRI, the Mobility in Transition Institute aims to objectivise the environmental, social, industrial and political issues at stake in order to facilitate the operational implementation of this transition. The Institute produces analyses and recommendations to help French and European public decision-makers understand the issues and to facilitate dialogue between stakeholders.

Paradoxically, this sector is particularly mature in the transition process. Unlike other sectors, the road transport industry benefits from existing and effective solutions that are based on the complementarity of several technological levers (electrification of vehicles combined with an evolution of models towards greater efficiency, sobriety and circularity) and behavioural levers (modal shift, shared mobility, reduction in kilometres travelled). Within the European Union, the sector's decarbonisation trajectory is defined and framed by a restrictive regulatory framework, notably via the implementation of the "Fit for 55" package, the most characteristic measure of which is the ban on sales of new combustion-powered cars in 2035.

In this context, the next step is to successfully implement the transition at all levels. This is part of a necessary multi-year planning process, to manage investments and trade-offs between the various levers that are in competition with each other. Similarly, the social dimension of the transition is crucial to ensuring its acceptability and success. Mobility needs to be rethought and transformed as a whole in order to address the structural problems of dependency and insecurity inherent in the current model of vehicle ownership.

The Institute's work is based on multi-stakeholder consultation, within a platform that brings together players from diverse backgrounds to exchange views in a framework protected by the Chatham House Rule, and on a modelling tool that gathers data on the entire French motorised road fleet, the fiscal and regulatory framework, and the profile of vehicle owners. At the same time, the Mobility in Transition Institute is working on a number of specific themes through various French and international collaborations.

For more information: https://institut-mobilites-en-transition.org/

• 1 Sectoral breakdown of CO2 emissions in the world | Key figures for the climate (developpement-durable.gouv.fr) : https://www.statistiques.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/edition-numerique/chiffres-cles-du-climat/7-repartition-sectorielle-des-emissions-de#:~:text=En%202018%2C%20la%20production%20d,%2C%20y%20compris%20la%20construction).
• 2 IPCC report 2022, technical summary, 1 TS. 5.3 Transport, pages 67 and 68