Germany's KfW Development Bank has announced it is to provide about one billion euros ($1.1 billion) to develop sustainable public transport systems in emerging economies.
In a news release on Tuesday relating to the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI), the bank said the funds could support everything from light rail networks to pedestrian and cycling paths and traffic management systems.
"Transportation is already one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, and is also the one that is growing most rapidly around the world," Norbert Kloppenburg, part of KfW's executive board, said in a statement.
"Low-carbon transportation systems are therefore urgently required in the fast-growing metropolises," Kloppenburg added. "TUMI is making an important contribution to a global transport revolution."
KfW said that the planned commitments for 2017 would help provide more than 250,000 people with "access to sustainable transport." It would also help save the equivalent of as much as 2.5 million tonnes of CO2.
Transportation is becoming an increasingly important issue in the battle against rising emissions, with efforts being made to tackle the problem and attitudes.
A recent poll from environmental charity WWF, for example, found that six out of 10 Britons not already doing so would be willing to fly less in the next year to tackle climate change.
The poll also found that 67 percent of travelers would be happy to pay in order to offset the environmental impact of their return flight in Europe. The WWF said that cutting out one return flight to Europe was roughly equivalent to driving 1,500 miles less in terms of carbon savings.
The WWF said that their findings would increase pressure on both governments and aviation industry leaders over the need for "climate solutions."
