World Sustainable Transport Day: BRICS Accelerates Green Mobility as Global Motorcycle Sales Smash Records

Today, the world marks World Sustainable Transport Day, highlighting the urgent need to make mobility safer, cleaner and more efficient.

Transport accounts for about a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, with 91 % of its energy still coming from fossil fuels, making it one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonise.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres stressed that “humanity is capable of overcoming its dependence on climate-damaging fossil fuels and creating sustainable, efficient and low-carbon transport systems based on new renewable sources of energy.”

Cities, home to more than half the world’s population, produce over 70 % of global emissions while generating more than 60 % of global GDP. Achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 (“Sustainable Cities and Communities”) therefore depends heavily on greener urban mobility.

This year, under Brazil’s BRICS presidency, member countries placed sustainable transport high on the agenda. The Rio de Janeiro Declaration adopted at the 17th BRICS Summit in July 2025, reaffirms the bloc’s commitment to resilient infrastructure, decarbonised public transport, active mobility (walking and cycling) and the wider use of zero- and low-emission vehicles.

Brazil is leading by example with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). A new plant already produces synthetic oil from renewable biological sources such as used cooking oil and agricultural waste. Pure SAF can cut lifecycle carbon emissions by up to 80 % compared with conventional jet fuel. BRICS nations also pledged to renew bus fleets, expand metro and tram networks and secure financing – including from the New Development Bank – for green transport projects.

Individuals can contribute too: choosing public transport, switching to electric vehicles, riding bicycles or e-scooters, or simply walking short distances all help reduce emissions and congestion.

Two-wheeled transport is gaining ground worldwide. In 2024, global motorcycle and scooter sales hit a record 61.8 million units, driven by manufacturers in Japan, Germany, India, China and the United States. In megacities, motorcycles and electric scooters offer a fast, low-emission way through traffic, supported by growing networks of universal charging stations.