Reacción a "If cities imitated Copenhagen's cycle network, vehicle emissions would fall by 6%"

The article has great potential, and as author of the upcoming IPCC special report on cities, I believe it is very useful for benchmarking cities globally and gathering clear evidence of the benefits of active mobility.

It also serves to emphasise that the dynamics and functioning of measures are not the same in all cities and that detailed studies are needed to understand how to implement mobility measures in the most efficient, effective, fair, sustainable and transformative way.

Global models have their limitations, as they use the same variables to compare more than 1,000 cities, and in many cases these may not be the parameters that explain the dynamics. However, in addition to being extremely useful for gaining a global and comparative overview with relatively little effort, these models are a definitive step towards legitimising regional and national policies that support active mobility in cities. It is therefore essential to carry out specific studies in each city to see how these measures can be implemented in the most appropriate way.

Finally, it should be emphasised that changing the mobility model in cities not only has benefits for reducing emissions and improving air quality, but also indirectly for improving urban adaptation to climate change by reducing paved and impermeable surfaces and by reducing heat sources such as vehicles, which increase the urban heat island effect. A change in the mobility model leads to changes in land use (with an increase in green infrastructure) with numerous benefits for the quality of life and well-being of the population.