1. Sustainable Development and Transport
The International Energy Agency (IEA) provided an evaluation of future energy requirements under different development scenarios, based on a mobility model. It found that a lot of action would be required by the transport sector in order to remain within the +2 °C temperature increase scenario, including a so-called ‘avoid, shift and improve’ approach. 5 The United Nation Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has suggested that transport is instrumental for poverty eradication. According to UNECE, there are five key dimensions of sustainable transport: (i) access – integrating countries in a broader market to eradicate poverty; (ii) affordability; (iii) safety, (vi) security and (v) environmental aspects. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has suggested that there are five key areas of intervention, involving: (i) road safety - infrastructure; (ii) public transportation - mass transit; (iii) air quality - link to health issues; (iv) fuel consumption - link to energy and (v) new technologies. The World Bank has focussed on the significance of improving accessibility to transport services in rural areas, which will offer greater potential for economic growth, market access/consolidation, opening up of small businesses and employment and, thus, for poverty alleviation. UN-Habitat stressed the importance of urban mobility and linking cities and urban areas in the twenty-first century, considering a mixed-use environment approach by integrating land-use and non-motorizing infrastructure. The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC) analysed the role of the transport sector in the progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), highlighting the high impact of the sector’s performance for achieving most MDGs. It underlined the fundamental role of the public transport policies in reducing the increasing externalities of economic growth and in making sure that the saving and benefits from better transport services effectively contribute to reducing social and economic inequality, which remains a major challenge in the UNECLAC region (UNECLAC, 2012). The International Road Transport Union (IRU) has suggested that buses/coaches and taxis should be placed at the centre of the transport policymaking debate, in order to double their use and achieve sustainable mobility for all. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has predicted that increasing demand for private motorisation in South-East Asia will exacerbate traffic congestion and air pollution, contribute to climate change and reduce road safety in this region. ADB discussed its ‘Sustainable Transport Initiative’, which involves the establishment of a Multilateral Development Bank working group on sustainable transport, initiation of innovative sustainable transport projects and capacity-building for sustainable transport. Finally, UNECE has developed a new initiative to support the efforts of member States to promote sustainable housing and land management, in order to achieve green, inclusive, compact and resilient cities, which are regarded as prerequisite to sustainable transport in the urban environment. 6
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See also www.unep.org/transport/about.asp
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See http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?page=view&type=1006&menu=1510&nr=2603
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