Skip to main content

UITP, ITF welcome UN plan to advance sustainable transport

Both the UITP and the International Transport Forum (ITF) have welcomed the United Nations High-Level Advisory Group report which recommends that greener, more efficient and sustainable transport can save trillions and help achieve the sustainable development goals. According to the report, Mobilizing Sustainable Transport for Development, greater investment in greener, more sustainable transport systems is essential for propelling the economic and social development that is vital to achieving the Sustai
November 1, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Both the UITP and the 998 International Transport Forum (ITF) have welcomed the United Nations High-Level Advisory Group report which recommends that greener, more efficient and sustainable transport can save trillions and help achieve the sustainable development goals.

According to the report, Mobilizing Sustainable Transport for Development, greater investment in greener, more sustainable transport systems is essential for propelling the economic and social development that is vital to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, according to an expert panel report delivered to UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon in New York last week.

The panel’s report provides ten recommendations on how governments, businesses and civil society should re-direct resources in the transport sector to advance sustainable development.

Investment in sustainable transport, the experts found, could lead to fuel savings and lower operational costs, decreased congestion, reduced air pollution and savings of up to US$70 trillion by 2050.

Ban Ki-moon noted that sustainable transport was essential to efforts to fight climate change, reduce air pollution and improve road safety: “Sustainable transport supports inclusive growth, job creation, poverty reduction, access to markets, the empowerment of women, and the well-being of persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.”

The panel’s recommendations highlight the importance of an integrated approach to policy, investments and institutional strengthening and the benefits of engaging a wide range of stakeholders and funding sources. They also include the promotion of sustainable transport technologies, cleaner fuels and the increase of international development funding and the need to put particular weight on the needs, challenges and opportunities in developing countries

José Viegas, secretary-general of the ITF, said, “Sustainable transport drives sustainable development. It is fundamental to meeting the needs of people in their personal and economic lives, while maintaining the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

“Transport is not an end in itself. It is a means for access to jobs, markets, education, health services, cultural interaction and a whole range of other services and amenities that contribute to healthy and fulfilling lives.”

UTC

Related Content

  • August 21, 2023
    Advanced booking: what are transportation leaders reading?
    There’s never been more information available to us via online platforms, rolling TV news and social media channels. In this environment, does the old-fashioned book still have something to offer? We asked a few transportation leaders what they were reading…
  • January 18, 2023
    Tolling Matters: Getting the balance right
    The concept of road usage charging (RUC) is slowly coming to the fore. But it isn’t just a question of good fiscal sense – it’s about promoting equity and ensuring sustainability too, says Scott Jacobs of Emovis
  • April 20, 2021
    Bill Halkias: 'We need a sustainable world'
    In the first of our Tolling Matters interview series, Bill Halkias, MD & CEO of Attica Tollway Operations Authority and president of the International Road Federation, talks to Adam Hill about post-Covid recovery and sustainable mobility
  • October 13, 2015
    Politicisation of US transportation funding
    Andrew Bardin Williams looks at how a political stalemate and a series of short-term fixes is undermining America’s highway funding and curtailing long-term planning. It was a week before the deadline to renew funding for the Highway Trust Fund, and the clock was ticking.