Economic development, social inclusion and environment protection measures are key elements of a healthy society, all of which rely on sustainable transport systems. The implementation of Voluntary Commitments on Sustainable Transport announced during the United Nations conference, Rio+20, is included in a report presented at the end of June during the High-Level Dialogue on Implementing Rio+20 Decisions.
At the moment, the negative externalities in the transport sector are estimated at 6-10% of the GDP and subsidies for the fuels supporting the motorization process is of USD 300-900 Billion. Also, road accidents are responsible for 1.23 million deaths every year and the economic costs of these accidents are estimated at USD 2.24 Billion, representing 3% of the global GDP (5% in the countries with small revenues). Another negative estimate of the transport sector refers to gas emissions whose volume is expected to increase by 70% until 2050 (from 2010) making transport the source of emissions with most rapid growth. These glum perspectives can be reduced by operating a radical change in transport and by creating a favourable access “through developing the transport and the services which can be carried out by avoiding the useless motorised journeys while intelligently using and planning the spaces dedicated to traffic and logistics; shifting people and freight traffic to the efficient and sustainable transport modes and improving the efficiency and the environment performance of the transport system by optimising vehicles, networks and management technologies”, points out the “Creating Universal Access to Safe, Clean and Affordable Transport”, a report on the Contribution of Sustainable Transport to the Implementation of Rio+20, presented in June, the main author of the document being SLoCaT (Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport). All elements of the Avoid-Shift-Improve approach have been tested at scale and can deliver inclusive access. These solutions will have multiple benefits combining an improvement in access, reductions in congestion, improvement in road safety, cleaner air and a reduced contribution to dangerous climate change.
The implementation of the Voluntary Commitments on Sustainable Transport, announced during the United Nations’ conference on sustainable development “Rio+20”, a year after their launch, has represented the foundation of the report, according to which, in the past year, several organisations have prepared to meet their commitments. Thus, the voluntary commitments launched within Rio+20 include activities such as knowledge management, capacity development, political dialogue and extension of financing. 8 large development banks committed last year to invest USD 175 Billion in the financing of sustainable transport projects over the next decade.
“While financing investments in sustainable transport can be challenging, we have a model in the Rio+20 conference, which saw an unprecedented level of voluntary commitments. The eight largest multila-teral development banks jointly committed to invest USD 175 Billion over the next ten years in more sustainable transport in developing countries. I commend their initiative”, declared UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon during the meeting in June (Berlin).
Next to the Rio+20 commitments, the SLoCaT Partnership has facilitated 6 additional commitments, which “ will make it possible for the transport community and other development partners to better observe and track how the sector develops and what the impact of policies and mea-sures will be on the sustainability of the transport sector at the global, national or local level”, says Michael Replogle, Managing Director for Policy and Founder of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy.
In 2012, more than USD 17 Billion of the funds to be allocated in the next 10 years were approved for projects in order to support the transport sector in developing countries. Moreover, the Working Group for Sustainable Transport was created which included the banks and which will report on the progress of the Voluntary Commitments by the end of 2013.
The SLoCaT partnership and a large part of the community which acts in the segment dealing with the intensification of sustainable transport are struggling to promote the integration of sustainable transport according to the post-2015 target (“Post-2015 Development Agenda, elaborated by a High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons, set up by UN Secretary General) and the construction of a global institutional framework to permit the construction of a sustainable transport.
The Post-2015 Development Agenda sets 5 targets that would undergo significant changes, sustainable development being at the core of these targets. “Without the Rio+20 commitments on sustainable transport it would be much more difficult for transport to become an integral and important part of the post-2015 goal framework”, declared Cornie Huizenga, Joint Convener of the SLoCaT Partnership and principal author of the report.
In order to meet the post-2015 targets from the economic, social and environmental point of view, it is vital to accelerate the growth of transport infrastructure and ser-vices which support economic and social development and the improvement of life quality. The existing and future infrastructure, jointly with the services supplied and those to be supplied, have to deliver an efficient, reliable and fair transport that would, in turn, reduce the environmental impact at both global and local level.
One of the Rio+20 commitments is UITP’s PTx2 strategy aimed to double the market share of public transport by 2025. “Access and connectivity at affordable prices is the basis of urban life for all. At the same time, only public transport can enable a massive reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the sector at the same time reducing the amount of public space used for transportation”, declared Gunnar Heipp – the chair of UITP’s Sustainable Development Commission .
Already half the world’s population lives in urban areas (3.5 billions), and 60% of the people will be living in cities by 2030. According to estimates, 95% of urban extension over the next decades will be in developing countries. Therefore, the development of a sustainable transport system becomes crucial.
Rio+20 comes two decades after the original project (Earth Summit) and marks the reassertion of the governments’ commitment (of June 2012) on the implementation of projects which determine the development of a green and sustainable economy. Rio+20 negotiations focus on the importance of transport in a world of urban development.
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