TRUE Initiative showcases urban emissions solutions at ITF Summit in Leipzig
The TRUE Initiative was on the ground in Leipzig, Germany this week to highlight its ongoing work to improve air quality through real-world research and evidence-based policymaking in cities around the world.
As the world’s premier transport policy event, the International Transport Forum’s 2025 Summit focused on sustainable urban mobility solutions, centering this year’s conversations around transport resilience to global shocks. The conference features policy discussions, technical workshops, and real-world demonstrations designed to accelerate the transition to cleaner transportation systems.
Warsaw as a case study for TRUE impact
During a dedicated side event, the TRUE Initiative presented its successful and ongoing partnership with the city of Warsaw, Poland. Collaboration with the city first began in 2020 through a real-world emissions testing campaign that collected over 220,000 samples from in-use vehicles.
The findings of this study were used by the city of Warsaw as they explored potential low-emission zone designs, and TRUE researchers modelled the projected impacts of various scenarios on overall emissions reductions.
“The data from our remote sensing testing with the TRUE Initiative was crucial, not only to help inform people about emissions, but in our design of the low-emission zone,” said Bartosz Piłat, a Warsaw City Hall officer, who spoke at the event. “It helped us figure out the best exemptions and the phase-in steps as we planned.”
Warsaw implemented a ‘Clean Air Zone’ in July 2024 and now, five years after the original TRUE testing campaign, plans are underway for a new testing campaign to understand how the zone has impacted the city’s fleets and air quality.
The event also featured highlights from the School Run Scandal program, a collaboration between the Global Action Plan and FIA Foundation. Blanka Kolago-Szymczak from Global Action Plan Polska set out how TRUE data was used to educate schoolchildren about the causes and impacts of dangerously dirty air and enable them to be advocate for their own environment.
“TRUE research was a fantastic tool in educating students and helped open their eyes to the problem and the solutions,” she added during the panel.
Measuring emissions in real-time
The highlight of the TRUE Initiative’s participation at the ITF Summit was the live demonstration of remote sensing technology. Attendees witnessed firsthand how this non-invasive technology can measure vehicle emissions in real-time under actual driving conditions.
Contractors from OPUS RSE, a TRUE technical contractor, were on-site to demo how the equipment measures the pollutants found in a vehicle’s exhaust plume as it drives by, without requiring any vehicle modifications or driver participation.
Researchers from the TRUE Initiative drove a diesel vehicle past the equipment to offer instant data insight to attendees. Similar to the findings from many TRUE studies, the Euro V vehicle showed NOx emissions nearly 5 times higher than allowed limits.
