ITS industry leaders with joint Open Letter to WEF


Open letter to the participants at the World Economic Forum 2022 in Davos


Munich, 20 May 2022. Climate change is one of the crucial challenges of our time and also on top of the agenda at World Economic Forum 2022. Causing around 25% of global CO2 emissions1 , traffic is a crucial lever to master the climate crisis. With this open letter, the global leaders in intelligent traffic systems call on the world‘s economic leaders to acknowledge mobility as a crucial driver for climate change and put the development and implementation of solutions to reduce traffic emissions on top of the agenda.



Dear participants at the World Economic Forum 2022 in Davos,


In the coming days you will discuss the critical challenges of our time, evaluate ideas, and develop solutions.


The climate crisis is one of them. The most urgent of them. If we do not take farreaching action now, we will not be able to stop global warming. And, we will not be able to preserve our planet for future generations.


Climate change is driven by many factors, but the transport sector is one of the biggest causes: More than 20 % of global CO2 emissions are attributable to transport. In Europe, the figure is as high as 30 %2. When we look at our cities and the growing urbanization, this is hardly surprising. Traffic congestion and air pollution are part of everyday life in cities around the world, harming people's health and the environment.


If we want to tackle the climate crisis, we need to change the way we move. 
Making conscious selections of the most adequate and environmentally sound mode of transportation for our trips is a first step. But it cannot be the only one. To realize sustainable mobility, we need to change the way we use and manage traffic and implement environmentally friendly mobility solutions that positively influence traffic flow and mobility behavior. We need to implement a traffic management system that allows for holistic, proactive, and demand-driven use of road and transit capacity. We must change the behavior of road users so that they actively choose more sustainable modes of transport.


We need to collect environmental data on pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, and information on traffic density and available modes of transport so that traffic is not static but managed according to the needs of road users and for the benefit of the environment. We need to reduce motorized individual traffic. Low emission zones or dynamic congestion charging are possible
solutions.


Digitization can significantly accelerate the transformation to sustainable, environmentally sound, and climate-friendly mobility. If we digitize our roads, we can make mobility sustainable, efficient and reliable so that everyone wins: public transport, car drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and everyone else who is micro mobile. The main winner will be the environment.


However, we can only meet the challenges of sustainable mobility when we work together and restore trust. Trust in public transport, trust in sustainable transport systems, and trust in politics to take the right measures now, on and off the road, to preserve our planet.


We, the world’s leading providers of intelligent traffic systems, may be competitors in the market.
But we stand united when it comes to sustainable mobility solutions because only together will we be able to influence climate change together on a global level. And, because there is no time to lose.


This is why we are jointly calling on the world's economic leaders:

  • Mobility must be acknowledged as a key driver of climate change, and the development and implementation of solutions to reduce transport emissions must be put at the top of the agenda.
  • Cities, communities and road network operators need financial support to implement innovative solutions - there must be incentives and funding to encourage greener forms of transport.
  • The ITS industry must be adequately considered in new initiatives and regulations such as the EU Taxonomy For Sustainable Activities.

Markus Schlitt, CEO of Yunex Traffic: “To realize the much-needed mobility
revolution, companies should turn away from the ‘Egosystem’ of working against
each other and towards an ‘Ecosystem’ in which we do not waste time competing
but focus on developing open solutions for the biggest crisis of our time – the
climate crisis – as quickly as possible. I am proud that we can lead by example by
standing together today as global leaders in intelligent traffic systems and joining
forces in striving for a more sustainable mobility.”


Michael Schuch, CEO of SWARCO, acknowledges the importance of addressing
the challenges in the transport and mobility sector now: “Our generation has the
responsibility to preserve a livable planet for future generations who want to be
mobile as well. This is something we can contribute to with our expertise. Intelligent
infrastructures, behavioral changes in our everyday lives, and traffic management
solutions evolving with new requirements and considering the entire mobility ecosystem
are indispensable cornerstones to shape a greener future for all of us.”


Georg Kapsch, CEO of Kapsch TrafficCom: “The climate crisis is the most urgent
global challenge that we are facing. As an industry, we are standing together in our
recognition of sustainability as a cooperative effort. We are calling on government
and authorities to do the same, take concrete and tangible steps to make the
difference that the world needs, the first of which would be the inclusion of our
industry in the green taxonomy. The solutions to make a difference are there – but
we need you to use them.”


We as industry leaders are ready to join forces to make mobility sustainable and implement solutions for lowering emissions on our roads and in our cities. Now it's up to you, the world’s economic leaders, to work together and pave the way for a sustainable mobility revolution.

Let's do it!


You find this press release here:
https://www.yunextraffic.com/global/en/newsroom
/stories
https://www.kapsch.net/presse


1 Source: https://www.iea.org/reports/tracking-transport-2021 (19 May 2022)

2 Source: https://eu.boell.org/en/European-Mobility-Atlas (19 May 2022)

About Yunex Traffic

Yunex Traffic is a separately managed company of Siemens Mobility. It is a global leader in the field of intelligent traffic systems, offering the widest end-to-end portfolio of solutions for adaptive traffic
control and management, highway and tunnel automation, as well as smart solutions for V2X and road user charging tolling. Yunex Traffic has 3100 employees from 58 nations and is active in over 40
countries worldwide. Its intelligent mobility solutions are currently being used in major cities across the world, including Dubai, London, Berlin, Bogota, and Miami. Yunex Traffic has successfully concentrated its efforts on mastering technologies in the three segments of hardware, software, and service, and is subsequently the only supplier who is capable of meeting all major regional standards in Europe, UK, Asia and America.

Further information:

Contact:
Johanna Böllmann
PR & Media Relations Manager
T. +49 173 5106026
E. johanna.boellmann@yunextraffic.com

About SWARCO

SWARCO’s leading idea is to improve quality of life by making the travel experience safer, quicker, more convenient and environmentally sound.
With more than five decades of experience in the industry, the Austrian traffic technology corporation produces and provides a large range of products, systems, services, and turnkey solutions for road marking, urban and interurban traffic management, parking, and public transport.
Cooperative systems, infrastructure-to-vehicle communication, e-mobility, and integrated software solutions for the Livable City complement the group’s future-oriented portfolio. 5300 traffic experts are keen to shape together with all stakeholders in the traffic industry the
transition from conventional traffic management to value-added services fit for the traveller in the digital age.
SWARCO’s products, systems and solutions contribute to greater road safety and intelligent traffic management in 80 countries and generate revenues of almost a billion euros.


Further information:


Contact:
Richard Neumann
Corporate Communications
T. +43-5224-5877-45
E. richard.neumann@swarco.com

About Kapsch TrafficCom

Kapsch TrafficCom is a globally renowned provider of transportation solutions for sustainable mobility. Innovative solutions in the application fields of tolling, tolling services, traffic management and
demand management contribute to a healthy world without congestion. Kapsch has brought projects to fruition in more than 50 countries around the globe. With one-stop solutions, the company covers the entire value chain of customers, from components to design and 
implementation to the operation of
systems. As part of the Kapsch Group and headquartered in Vienna, Kapsch TrafficCom has subsidiaries and branches in more than 25 countries. It has been listed in the Prime Market segment of
the Vienna Stock Exchange since 2007 (ticker symbol: KTCG). In its 2020/21 financial year, around 4,660 employees generated revenues of about EUR 500 million.


Further information:

Contact:
Carolin Treichl
Executive Vice President Marketing & Communications
T. +43 50 811 1710
E. carolin.treichl@kapsch.net