How people and goods move is changing. Electric vehicles, public transport and cleaner freight are reshaping transport systems as governments and businesses look to improve air quality and make it easier and cheaper for people to get where they need to go. At Climate Week NYC, decision makers come together to push forward the transition to clean, cheaper transport.
Leticia Pineda is one of them. She is Mexico and Canada Regional Lead at the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). We talked about how cleaner transport means reimagining the design of cities and transport systems, what the Americas can teach the world, and how this transition can deliver both environmental and economic benefits.
Q1: When we talk about "clean transport", the conversation often focuses on replacing petrol and diesel vehicles with EVs. Is that the whole picture?
Leticia: Clean transport has become a buzzword that is not always very specific. When we talk about cleaner transport, we want vehicles on the road that are clean, but we need to look at the whole ecosystem. Where is the electricity coming from? Where are the fuels coming from?
It is not just about changing cars. We also need to think about whether we can avoid some trips altogether, or switch to cleaner modes of transportation other than private vehicles. It's about reducing the impact of transport on the environment by looking at the overall ecosystem.
The biggest wins I’ve seen are in the transition of fleets, whether transit, taxis or freight, because these are the most intensive vehicles in terms of overall pollution by sheer number - electrifying them will lead to much larger reductions in pollution. Latin America, for example, has already electrified 10,000 buses, which is a great milestone that significantly reduces costs and pollution.
This also creates a collective demand for cleaner transport. Rather than each country or company looking at a small market on its own, collective demand for electric buses makes a stronger business case for them. The more we see these technologies around us, the more economic sense they make, and the more familiar people will become with them.
Q2: You’ve worked extensively on Mexico’s electrification. Mexico is becoming an important center for EV manufacturing. What does this mean for making clean transport accessible to everyone, and what can the world learn from Mexico?
LP: Mexico is an interesting case. There are countries making a lot of progress in cleaning their fleets that do not have the manufacturing capacity Mexico has. The government has two main projects: Olinia, an affordable EV aimed at people who cannot afford the vehicles typically seen as a luxury, and Taruk, Mexico’s first fully electric bus manufactured in the country. What Mexico can show globally is that the transition to cleaner transport does not just benefit one section of society. It can benefit everyone, while also creating local economic opportunities through cleaner manufacturing and supply chains.
When Claudia Sheinbaum was mayor of Mexico City, she adopted policies that supported EVs and saw immediate benefits, both in terms of saving money and reducing pollution. Now, as president, she’s making similar decisions at the national level. Her experience shows how successful examples at city-level can demonstrate that cleaner transport is both possible and economically smart.
Q3: What could New York, the US and the wider world learn from the experiences you have seen across your work in Latin and North America?
LP: Latin America has grown significantly in terms of electrification because countries are connected, and they’re sharing best practices. Mexico and Canada are both working on expanding national charging infrastructure and emission standards for smaller cars. There’s a big opportunity to harmonize these policies. And also for all these countries to work together to boost manufacturing and trade of electric vehicles, which would make them more affordable across the Americas.
For New York, there are many opportunities for better mobility. It is a very dense city, and many people already use the subway to get around. But there are opportunities to better connect people through transit-only lanes, faster bus routes, while electrifying the buses.
Q4: Governments are taking different approaches to the transition, from firm deadlines to gradual phase-outs. What makes the biggest difference?
LP: The pace of transition depends on the region, but in general, it is not something that will happen overnight. The focus for governments and companies needs to be on building infrastructure and making sure people are familiar with EV technology.
I think investing in more long-term, sustainable policies is probably the best bet, rather than imposing something that might be extremely strict and then struggling to implement it. Governments need to provide the right incentives and signals so everybody understands where policy is moving, and companies can make the right investments. At the same time, everybody needs to have a fair share in contributing to and participating in cleaning up transport.
Q5: If you had two minutes on the Climate Week NYC stage, if you could challenge leaders making decisions about cleaner transport, what would you say to them?
LP: I would talk about the cost of inaction. We usually think about transitions by asking how much they will cost an industry or how much time they will take. But it is already costing us a lot through extreme weather, supply chain disruptions and health impacts.
It's important to understand who is affected first. I think those are the most vulnerable people. We need to make the right decisions at the right time because, in the long run, that is going to be better for everyone.
And it's not just economic. There are ecosystems and health impacts that we cannot bring back or even monetize, so in the long run it is going to be costlier. That said, this can’t just be an environmental and energy transition, it needs to make economic sense. We’re seeing many countries in the Global South and across ASEAN asking how they can make this transition sustainable for their people while also growing internally and economically.
If more people make this transition, it will create global demand. In the long run, cleaner transport will make sense for everyone.
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Leticia Pineda leads strategies and technical and policy analysis on vehicles, green freight and transport electrification across Mexico, Canada and Latin America. ICCT is a close partner of Climate Group’s EV100 initiative, bringing together companies committed to accelerating the transition to electric vehicles. She shares insights on
Transport and Travel is a key theme at Climate Week NYC; it explores how people and goods move, how we choose to travel, and how governments and businesses can build cleaner, cheaper and more connected transport systems.
You can explore all the events on the theme via the event calendar on our website.