The second United Nations Global Sustainable Transport Conference will be held from 5 to 7 May 2020 in Beijing, China. It will provide an opportunity to focus attention on the opportunities, challenges and solutions towards achieving sustainable transport objectives. It will follow up on the first Global Sustainable Transport Conference, held in 2016 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and is expected to indicate a way forward for sustainable transport to help achieve the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Olof Persson, former Chief Executive Officer of the Volvo Group, outlines key challenges and possible solutions regarding sustainable transport. Mr Persson was Co-Chair of the former UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport.
The second United Nations Global Sustainable Transport Conference underscores the importance of sustainable transport for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change. It will build on the first Global Sustainable Transport Conference, held on 26 and 27 November 2016 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, which resulted in the “Ashgabat Statement on Commitments and Policy Recommendations”.
Transport enables the mobility of people and goods, enhancing economic growth and livelihoods while improving access to quality services, such as health, education and finance. It strengthens connectivity at all levels, helping integrate economies, improving social equity, enhancing rural-urban linkages and building resilience. At the same time, there is also recognition of negative environmental, social and health impacts. Close to a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions come from transport and these emissions are projected to grow substantially in the years to come, further exacerbating climate change. Other pollutants, most evidently in many urban centres, directly impact health; casualties and deaths from accidents are also on the rise. Increasing connectivity can be accompanied with increasing illicit flows of contraband. Without proactive measures, existing inequalities such as those due to disabilities, gender or remoteness can become even more entrenched, According to the report of the former Secretary-General’s High-level Advisory Group, sustainable transport seeks to alleviate these negative impacts while “advancing economic and social development to benefit today’s and future generations—in a manner that is safe, affordable, accessible, efficient, and resilient”. Click here for more information on sustainable transport.
The second Global Sustainable Transport Conference will draw upon discussions and action on sustainable transport in intergovernmental and other fora. Advances in sustainable transport will contribute to the attainment of many, if not all, of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), outlined in the 2030 Agenda. Some SDGs are directly connected to sustainable transport through targets and indicators, such as SDG 3 on health, which includes a target addressing deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents (3.6), and SDG 11 on sustainable cities which includes a target on providing access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all and on expanding public transport (11.2). Many others are also connected through the enabling role of sustainable transport across the 2030 Agenda.
The second Global Sustainable Transport Conference will bring together key stakeholders from Governments, UN system and other international organizations, the private sector, and civil society to discuss the integrated and cross-cutting nature of sustainable transport and its multiple roles in supporting the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. All modes of transport—road, rail, aviation and waterborne—will be addressed, and recent scientific and technological advances deliberated. The concerns of vulnerable groups, such as women, the youth, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and the poor, and of many developing countries, including least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States, will receive particular focus. Key transport objectives, such as access for all while leaving no one behind, green mobility, efficiency and safety will be discussed.
The programme of the Conference will reflect the diversity and complexity of the transport sector and will provide an opportunity for policy dialogue as well as forging partnerships and initiatives to advance sustainable transport.
For more information, please contact us.
Now open: Applications for side events to be organized during the Second Global Sustainable Transport Conference
Member States, intergovernmental organizations, the United Nations system and relevant stakeholders are invited to submit applications for side events to be organized during the Second Global Sustainable Transport Conference online here. On the two-page form, you will be required to provide a title and brief description of the proposed side event, technical requirements and contact information. The deadline for applications is 15 March 2020.
NOW OPEN: pre-registration of non-governmental organizations, private sector, members of the scientific and technological communities and other stakeholders
Deadline: 2 March 2020
Please note that information about pre-registration of representatives from United Nations Member States, International Organizations and Media will be shared shortly.
Relevant stakeholders can request registration to participate as observers in the United Nations Second Global Sustainable Transport Conference. Those include:
To request registration to participate in the United Nations Second Global Sustainable Transport Conference, please, follow the instructions below:
| Representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations must pre-register here: https://indico.un.org/event/33022/ |
|
Is your organization accredited to ECOSOC? Please, check here: https://esango.un.org/ |
|
Representatives or observers from the private sector and civil society, members of the scientific and technological communities, and other stakeholders whose work is relevant to the Conference and that are NOT in consultative status with ECOSOC must apply for pre-registration here: https://reg.unog.ch/event/32950/ |
NOTE: Requesting pre-registration does not guarantee participation in the Second Global Sustainable Transport Conference. Approved participants will receive a confirmation letter from the United Nations which could also be used to support your visa application to China.
