Transport continues to contribute substantially to ambient air pollution, one of the greatest environmental threats to human health globally, causing 8 million deaths in 2018 (C-CHANGE, 2021). Both carbon emissions and air pollution degrade critical ecosystems and place additional strain on already threatened species and habitats.

Transport accounts for around 23% of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, with road transport responsible for 70% of those. (IPCC, 2022).

The WHO has identified that around 99% of the world lives in air that’s polluted above acceptable limits. (WHO, 2019).

Air pollution is one of the most severe global health risks, and the majority of the burden is borne by low- and middle-income populations. It’s particularly severe in urban areas due to a higher concentration of vehicles producing tailpipe emissions at ground level, which has significant health impacts, especially for children, who are the perfect height for ingesting tailpipe fumes.

The shift to clean transport produces social and environmental benefits far beyond emission reduction that powerfully contribute to better outcomes for communities and ecosystems globally.

Clean transport initiatives are expanding worldwide, but significant barriers remain in place that slow progress. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) identified that financial flows are currently three to six times lower than levels needed by 2030 to limit warming to below 2 degrees (IPCC, 2022).

Despite the rise in EV adoption, transport is still not on track to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, which is the agreed science-based target to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees (IPCC, 2018). Aggressive action from both policymakers and the private sector is needed to achieve rapid uptake.

Removing carbon that has already been emitted is immensely important and necessary, but reducing the production of emissions is a critical first step. Incentivising the shift away from our reliance on fossil fuels will have a far greater impact on the health of our society than many of the initiatives that focus on the removal of carbon.

In 2010-2019, average annual global greenhouse gas emissions were at their highest levels in human history, and without immediate and deep reductions across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5°C is beyond reach (IPCC, 2022).

The enormity of the emissions reductions necessary demonstrates the urgency of immediate and deep cuts to emissions production.

Transport accounts for around 23% of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions (IPCC, 2022), the equivalent of 8 billion tonnes of C02e annually (IEA, 2022).

But carbon credits from projects in the transport sector are dramatically underrepresented, comprising only 2.1 MtCO2e of carbon emissions reduction in 2021, or 0.95% of volume (Ecosystem Marketplace, 2021 SOVCM).

ME Impact Credits from clean transport initiatives channel capital directly into decarbonising this high-emissions sector. And in many cases, credits can be purchased from decarbonisation initiatives within purchasing companies’ own supply chains (insetting).

Even with the significant public and private financial commitments after the UNFCCC COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, global investment still falls drastically short of the trillions required to meet net zero emissions (Baker McKenzie, 2021).

Siemens identified that, to meet demand, a USD$45.25bn EV charging infrastructure investment is needed from 2021-23 and a $104.11bn investment is needed from 2024-26. The current investment challenge is considerable, and it’s also growing at an exponential rate. (Siemens, 2021 p.7)

While public funding and incentives are crucial to encourage investment, they are simply not enough on their own.

ME Impact Credits are generated using rigorous, internationally recognised methodologies to assess clean transport projects, with third-party verification of both emissions avoidance and sustainable development contributions.

Importantly, Motion Energy will not sell credits for the purpose of offsetting, but only to aligned Changemakers who want to support and invest in the underlying clean transport initiatives producing the ME Impact Credits they are buying or for insetting within a company's supply chain, local community, or global sphere of influence.

For more on this: Download our Integrity Statement > (PDF)

Carbon credits are the units of greenhouse gas emissions avoided, reduced, or removed by certified projects. Carbon offsets refers to the process of retiring carbon credits against corresponding greenhouse gas emissions produced by the company purchasing the carbon credits.

Carbon credits can be purchased and retired without offsetting emissions, but rather to support an ambitious sustainability strategy, or as an impact investing initiative. As companies move from ‘net-zero’ to ‘nature-positive’ commitments, we anticipate carbon credits being more for impact and insetting, than offsetting.

All our Changemakers are companies. with ambitious sustainability strategies, looking for a verified, innovative transport emission reduction initiative, with meaningful impact.

Rather than offsetting emissions, they’re supporting the underlying clean transport activity related to the credits they’re buying. This demonstrates they’re having a direct, positive impact on their stakeholders, within and beyond their own supply chain (insetting) to benefit their local community, and support their Scope Three decarbonisation goals.

For more on this: Download our Integrity Statement > (PDF)

ME Impact Credits may also be purchased by companies seeking Gold or Silver Standard certification by the VCMI Provisional Code of Practice.

The extraction and combustion of fossil fuels needed to fuel global transport is responsible for dramatic and widespread ecosystem degradation and climate change. And while there are emissions associated with the production and use of EVs, they produce no tailpipe emissions, so they significantly reduce road transport’s carbon emissions and the production of harmful air pollutants.

When comparing the life cycle impacts of EVs and fossil fuel vehicles, EVs are significantly more environmentally sustainable, even when taking into account the emissions generated by the mining of Lithium and other metals for the creation of EV batteries. (IOPscience)

EVs also meaningfully contribute to greater renewable energy penetration into the grids that charge them.

‘Range anxiety’ and ‘Charger Anxiety’ are common reasons that potential EV buyers delay the switch, mostly due to a lack of EV charging stations -- an issue which only gets bigger the more EVs appear on our roads.

When one of our Partners sells their ME Impact Credits, generated from the avoided emissions achieved by the transition to clean transport, they tap into an additional revenue stream to invest in more clean transport infrastructure, and potentially reduced charging costs for customers. For instance, building more EV charging stations for their fleet, and making them available to private drivers.

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