As part of the 2030 Agenda by the UNDP, 17 goals were proposed, commonly known as The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These build on the successes of the Millenium Development Goals while including new areas such as climate change, economic inequality, innovation, sustainable consumption and peace and justice. When regarding the 17 SDG goals it is vital to understand that these are interconnected- often the key to success of one will involve tackling issues more commonly associated with another. We see four SDG goals more or less directly linked to New Mobility:
The scope of the study relates to the SDG Goal 9 “industry, innovation, infrastructure” as it supports the creation of economically and environmentally sustainable innovation in the automotive sector. Leading experts’ opinions on the future of the automotive industry, specifically Digital Services, Autonomous Driving and E-mobility, have the potential to influence the European and international automotive market as well as governance. A sustainable development of transport technologies has the prospect to empower communities and increase growth and productivity, by creating new work opportunities and life models. Furthermore, the change in engine technology may help increase living standards by improving air pollution and therefore health hazards. By doing so, international environmental objectives such as energy efficiency and health agreed upon in the Paris Agreement may be met.
New Mobility concepts can help make cities more resilient, by promoting ‘Mobility as a Service’ (MaaS), autonomous driving as well as shared-driving, decreasing the number of vehicles used in cities. These innovative transportation systems link into SDG Goal 11 “Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”, as increased health standard through decreased air pollution allows for a safer living environment and more sustainable growth of the city and its population.
Lastly, with regards to the Paris Agreement goal to limit global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius, New Mobility has the opportunity to create a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. SDG Goal 13 “Climate Action” encourages to limit the impacts of climate change by decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and creating cleaner economies. The automotive industry must use innovation to create a shift in products and markets from internal combustion engines to alternative and greener engines which can be powered by renewable energies in the future, therefore also directly linking it to SDG Goal 7 "Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all".
Although the prospects of New Mobility in regards to the SDG Goals can be regarded as a positive disruption, the possibility of it having negative implications for society and environment need to be considered. Shared mobility, especially in correlation with autonomous cars could increase transport usage. Prices for driving, especially shared driving could fall tremendously. This could lead to higher traffic congestion in urban spaces, therefore possibly increase air and noise pollution. Moreover, increase in electric cars would increase the demand for energy, which if not sourced sustainably and from renewable energies, would have a negative impact on greenhouse gas emission and therefore climate action.