Argentinian chapter of decarbonisation project kicks-off
One of the biggest challenges for climate change mitigation is to enable emerging economies to continue lifting people out of poverty while at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The ITF’s Decarbonising Transport in Emerging Economies (DTEE) project helps governments of emerging nations to identify ways to reduce their transport CO2 emissions and meet their climate goals.
The Argentinian chapter of the project - led by Francisco Furtado (ITF Modeller and Analyst) - kicked-off in Buenos Aires from 16 to 20 September (photo). The principal local partner is Argentina's Ministry of Transport. Kick-off meetings focused on freight transport decarbonisation including rail, road, inland waterways, ports and urban logistics. As well as officially starting the DTEE project in Argentina, the meetings provided an opportunity to gather input from participants regarding current and future transport challenges in Argentina, and their relation to transport CO2 reduction ambitions. The mission also set the necessary conditions for the initial data collection process.
Mode-specific meetings, including a visit to the Port of Buenos Aires, provided an in-depth understanding of the challenges facing each transport area. Sectorial meetings with ministry officials enlighted project leaders as to the current state and challenges for each mode. Argentina faces an important policy decision between 2020 and 2023 when the current concessions of the Port of Buenos Aires, railways and waterways will be put to tender. This could have wide implications for regulatory frameworks and investment policy. Inputs from the meetings will inform a report due in January 2020 for discussion with Argentina's new transport representatives following the October 2019 elections.