The Sustainable Transport and Air Quality (STAQ) Project, supported by the grant, is part of a regional approach to reducing the emission of air pollutants in several important Latin American cities.

The funding will enable the three cities to promote and implement pilot projects to:

• Reduce private vehicle use,
• Create incentives for public and non-motorized transport, and
• Improve transport planning.

The multi-city nature of the project will also facilitate the sharing of knowledge, information, and methodologies among participating cities and others.

The regional approach is more development-effective and cost-effective than previous city-by-city interventions. It has been developed specifically to respond to different local conditions as well as shared transport challenges, said Makhtar Diop, World Bank Director for Brazil. With its long and proven track record in urban transport and environment projects, the World Bank is uniquely positioned to help cities implement this.

The project in Brazil consists of pilot investments and technical assistance to the three pre-identified cities to remove barriers for sustainable transport. The cities have been identified on the basis of the following characteristics: (i) they are economic and governmental centers at the national or municipal levels, and (ii) the state and municipal governments are committed to addressing environmental and sustainable transport issues.

The program will lower the costs of development of green urban transport interventions in the three cities and make the knowledge and experience available for others. The broader STAQ program involves regional coordination and south-south learning. A key element of the program is the creation of a critical mass of cities in Latin America engaged in sustainable transportation policies.

"Due to its extensive use of renewable biofuels, the transport sector in Brazil contributes relatively less to greenhouse gas emissions than most other Latin American countries. Despite this, air pollution remains a serious problem," said Paul Procee, Project Manager for the World Bank. The project will directly help to improve health and wellbeing indicators in some of Brazil's most populous and polluted metropolitan areas.

Through pilot investments, technical assistance and capacity-building activities, the project will focus on: freight transport, better coordination and integration of transport and land-use planning and environmental management, enhancement of public transport, non-motorized transport and transport demand management.