transport

A world where every car, bus and truck sold is electric and affordable, where shipping vessels use only sustainable fuels, and where planes can run on green hydrogen may sound like a sci-fi movie, but here, at COP26, many governments and businesses said they have started to work to make it a reality.

With global transport at a crossroads, government leaders, industry experts, and civil society groups are meeting in Beijing, China, for a UN conference to chart the way forward to a more sustainable future for the sector, and greater climate action overall. 

Transforming the transport sector to be more environmentally-friendly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, could create up to 15 million new jobs worldwide and help countries move to greener, healthier economies, according to a UN-backed report published on Tuesday.

Gathered at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Organization’s development wing in the region, countries have highlighted how new technologies – especially smart devices – are making transport systems safer and greener.

The first-ever United Nations Global Sustainable Transport Conference concluded today in the Turkmen capital, with more than 50 countries endorsing the 'Ashgabat Statement on Commitments and Policy Recommendations,' with a view to supporting cleaner, greener transportation – from local transit systems to worldwide multimodal networks.

Opening the first-ever Global Sustainable Transport Conference, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told delegations gathered in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, that the world has the resolve, commitment, imagination and creativity “to transform our transport systems in a sustainable manner that will improve human wellbeing, enhance social progress and protect our planet.”

The first-ever global conference on sustainable transport takes place this weekend in Turkmenistan, bringing together representatives from the United Nations, governments, the private sector and civil society to set new directions for global transport efforts.

Efforts to revolutionize transport around the world are gaining momentum with more Governments and businesses exploring possibilities for electric vehicles and low-carbon emissions transport systems, said transport experts attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Marrakech (COP 22).

Four global transport initiatives announced at the United Nations Climate Summit today aim to put the transport sector on a new track towards a low-carbon future and save trillions of dollars in fuel costs in the process.

With only seven per cent of goods transported on inland waterways in the European Union (EU), “considerable efforts” are still required by the region’s governments and the transport industry to increase this number and relieve congested road and rail networks, according to a UN report.