As communities around the world face severe impacts from the climate crisis, from extreme heat to increasingly destructive storms, it is readily apparent that a lack of action on climate will have severe effects on livelihoods, infrastructure, and economic development. Decarbonizing the transport sector represents an opportunity to significantly decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as transport accounts for around 20 percent of GHG emissions, and without serious mitigation efforts, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from transport could rise to 60 percent by 2050.
Although the Bank has established trust funds such as Sustainable Mobility for All (Sum4All) and the Global Facility to Decarbonize Transport (GFDT), its current transport portfolio continues to fall short on decarbonization. and . One potential reason may be the lack of a transport strategy. Instead, the Bank’s current strategy for the transport sector is covered by the Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP), which identifies three priority areas and recognizes the potential for electric vehicles (EVs) and electric mobility (e-mobility) to reduce emissions, but does not include specific commitments or measurable emission reduction targets. Another possible explanation is the Bank’s inconsistent transport financing record within its climate finance portfolio, where transport mitigation finance fluctuates significantly year to year. For example, Bank reporting shows $3,855 million in mitigation finance for the transport sector in 2025, compared with just $856 million the year before. These inconsistencies — combined with the lack of clear commitments — underscore the need for stronger strategic direction. The following recommendations outline areas where the Bank can strengthen its approach and demonstrate a greater commitment to transport decarbonization.
Transport Scorecard
- Measure decarbonization outcomes. The Corporate Scorecard includes an indicator on sustainable transport that intends to measure the number of people benefitting from improved access to sustainable transport through Bank financed or guaranteed projects. Despite the emphasis on sustainable transportation, the indicator fails to measure transport decarbonization. As the Bank has shifted to a more outcomes-oriented approach, the sustainable transport indicator has not. As such, it should be revised to include an emissions-focused outcome metric or sub-indicator that directly measures progress on transport decarbonization.
Paris Alignment
- Strengthen guidance on Paris aligned activities. The Bank should revise its list of universally aligned activities, particularly regarding the eligibility of road construction, rehabilitation, and reconstruction, to be more aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement. While road improvement projects are critical for economic and social development, they should not dominate the transport portfolio or disproportionately contribute to reported climate finance. For these projects, the Bank should also consider the types of vehicles and emissions associated with new, expanded roadways and identify opportunities to reduce emissions, such as supporting the development of sustainable and inclusive public transport, enabling a modal shift from road to rail, installing EV charging infrastructure along roadways, and increasing support for electrifying medium and heavy duty vehicles.
- Expand the list of non-aligned activities. Currently, the Bank’s “Activities Considered Universally Not Aligned” list only includes mining or electricity from coal and extraction and electricity production from peat. The Bank should update this list to include internal combustion engines (ICE) vehicles and infrastructure.
Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP)
- Include sector-specific targets. The Bank’s Action Plan on Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience includes a set of quantifiable targets across six thematic areas. The CCAP should adopt a similar approach and introduce sector-specific, measurable emissions reduction targets, particularly for high-emitting sectors. The CCAP should also include explicit commitments on vehicle electrification.
- Integrate existing analysis and recommendations. The Bank has developed numerous reports on e-mobility, including Country Climate and Development Reports that identify e-mobility as a key solution for significantly reducing transport emissions. This analysis should be explicitly integrated into the next iteration of the CCAP.
Private Sector
- Mobilize and provide finance for e-mobility. The IFC should leverage its financial position in accelerating the shift towards e-mobility. Depending on the country and market context, the IFC can play multiple roles; these include financing EV fleet expansion, investing in charging infrastructure, making new technologies more accessible, and partnering with the public sector to strengthen expertise, reduce risks, and accelerate the transition. In many cases, the IFC can mobilize or access financing more rapidly than the public sector, and should use this advantage to support the scale-up of electric mobility.
As the World Bank seeks to drive climate action through various policies and programs, a strenuous push for transforming the entire transport system is urgent. The opportunity to reduce consumption and decrease GHG emissions makes this shift essential. Achieving it will require broad commitments to e-mobility, and more resilient and accessible technologies, supported by both the private and public sectors, in collaboration with stakeholders who can benefit from these improvements. On World Sustainable Transport Day we look forward to seeing this transformation come to fruition.