New Mobility Modes Must Be Utilized for Climate Goals

On April 25, a seminar titled “Micromobility and Car Sharing in Cities – New Tools for Climate Neutrality Goals” was held at the European Union House in Riga as part of the discussion series “More Renewable Energy, Less Emissions!”. This was the third discussion in the series, dedicated to climate neutrality goals in Latvia, organized by the Sustainability cluster Latvia and the Latvian Renewable Energy Federation.

Micromobility Tools – Scooters, Bicycles, E-Scooters, and Car-Sharing enter Everyday Urban Life.

Their usage is rapidly increasing. These modes of transport replace private cars and contribute to climate neutrality goals, which is particularly important now as cities work on developing their climate neutrality plans. Latvia has already gained initial experience with these new transport solutions, so representatives from the state, municipal institutions, and the industry are invited to discuss how to properly promote sector development, encourage user adoption, ensure road safety, and optimally integrate these solutions into overall urban transport and pedestrian flows.

Dr. oec., climate researcher Justs Dimants emphasized in the discussion that greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union decreased on average by 32% from 1990 to 2020, yet the transport sector has seen a 7% increase. Micromobility and car-sharing services are among the tools available to reduce CO₂ emissions. They can also help lower energy consumption, reduce traffic congestion, and improve air quality. Achieving these benefits requires support mechanisms at various levels, grounded in national policy.

Tālivaldis Vectirāns, Director of the Road Infrastructure Department at the Ministry of Transport, presented the state’s priorities in this area, including plans to develop micromobility infrastructure routes connecting settlements with more than 5,000 inhabitants within a 10 km accessibility radius. Characterizing micromobility infrastructure in Latvia, he noted that it is currently developed in a fragmented way, lacks clear separation, and urban planners as well as consumers often maintain car-centric views.

J. Dimants highlighted several potential CO₂ savings in urban environments through micromobility (*): An average person who shifts their mode of transport from a car to a bicycle reduces life-cycle CO₂ emissions by 3.2 kg CO₂ per day; by choosing a bicycle or e-bike instead of a car just once per day, an average city resident can cut their transport-related carbon emissions by 62%; if one in every five city residents changed their travel habits in this way in the coming years, emissions from the transport sector could be reduced by approximately 8%.

Vladimirs Reskājs, CEO of “Carguru,” emphasized the contribution of car-sharing to achieving climate goals in the transport sector:

"Car-sharing represents the future of 'smart' mobility and a comfortable urban environment without traffic jams and stress. Moreover, it encourages the use of other modes of transport, such as bicycles, scooters, and public transport. Both the city and its residents benefit, as this ensures better environmental quality."

Summarizing the main conclusions of the discussion, Armands Gūtmanis, Director of the Sustainability cluster Latvia, noted: "Today’s discussion clearly demonstrated that both mobility types—shared transport and micromobility—are rapidly growing, actively used by consumers, and make a significant contribution to emission reduction. They are important tools for achieving the climate policy objectives set by EU directives. There are few such instruments in urban transport—cities can consider establishing low-emission zones, promote shared transport and micromobility, and more broadly utilize zero-emission public transport. For municipalities, particularly Riga, these two mobility tools should be taken into account and supported to achieve climate goals."