Transport for Sustainable Development – The case of Inland Transport
development should aim at inter- and intra-generational distributional justice, i.e. should aim at the well-being of both the current and future generations of the global population in its entirety. Presently, all three sustainable development pillars (economic, social and environmental) face great challenges: more than one billion people still live in extreme poverty, income inequality within and among many countries has been rising and unsustainable consumption/production patterns have resulted in increasing environmental degradation and dwindling natural resources.
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Sustainable Transport Transport is essential for the economic and social development of all countries as well as for supporting regional and global cooperation and economies. Historically, the development of a country’s transport sector has been an indicator of its economic welfare and success. The direct value added by the transport sector to global GDP is about 3-5 per cent, and transport typically provides 5-8 per cent of average national total paid employment. Between 1950 and 1990, the number of motorized vehicles in the world grew by roughly nine times, from about 75 million to 675 million. During the same period, the world population doubled, from about 2.55 billion to near 5.25 billion. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) estimates that the global population will increase by more than 2.5 billion during the next 35 years reaching over 9.5 billion inhabitants in 2050. Population growth, coupled with continuing globalization and trade liberalization, is expected to accelerate the demand for transportation of both people and goods. The ever-increasing movement of people and goods has resulted in transport becoming instrumental to many economic and social functions and, thus, one of the controls of sustainable development. Principles of development (increasing well-being and equity) as well as sustainability (preserving natural and man-made capital) should be inherent in sustainable transport policies and manifested in transport trends (Gudmundsson and Höjer, 1996). Adequate, efficient, and effective transport systems are important for access to markets, employment, education and basic services critical to poverty alleviation; at the same time, transportation is expected to be a major driving force behind a growing world demand for energy and it has a significant environmental footprint. Therefore, integrated approaches to policymaking should be promoted, including policies/planning for land use, infrastructure development, public transport systems and goods delivery networks, with a view to providing affordable, efficient and safe transportation, increasing energy efficiency, and reducing pollution and congestion effects.3 In recent extensive consultations with decision makers4, different international organisations and industry associations have highlighted some of the current challenges associated with sustainable transport.
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See also: http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?menu=238
Consultation of Decision-Makers on Implementing Sustainable Transport New York City, USA, September 26th 2013 attended by 67 participants from all regions. Organized by DESA, Ford Foundation, FIA Foundation and UN-Habitat. See also http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?menu=1569.
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