UN summit next week for sustainable transport

With the transport sector contributing approximately 25 per cent of all direct greenhouse gas emissions, there is a renewed sense of urgency for achieving sustainable transport globally -- transport that is safe, green, efficient  and accessible.

The UN Sustainable Transport Conference, hosted by China from October 14 to 16, will be an opportunity to highlight concrete solutions for developing transport systems that will effectively respond to the climate crisis.

In addition to its impact on the environment, the transport sector has also contributed to 1.35 million deaths every year in traffic accidents worldwide. Over 1 billion people globally still lack adequate access to an all-weather road and in many cities, public transport remains unsustainable, unsafe, inefficient, inaccessible or unaffordable -- a situation that is particularly affecting people living in poverty.

The UN Sustainable Transport Conference will provide a roadmap for achieving transport systems that are designed to help protect the environment, while opening economic opportunities and improving health and well-being.

It will focus on the opportunities and challenges for all modes of transport -- road, rail, aviation and waterborne -- and provide concrete solutions for achieving sustainable transport worldwide.

The conference will be hybrid and will consist of plenary sessions, a ministers' forum, a business forum and a science, engineering and technology forum. 

At the heart of discussions will be the links between achieving sustainable  transport and economic recovery, climate mitigation and other issues.