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Executive summary
Transport for sustainable development
Transport affects social, economic and environmental sustainability. Transport links markets
and individuals, making regions more competitive and promoting individuals’ social and
economic development. The transport system provides the individual with access to basic
social services, such as health, food, education, employment and recreational activities. This
requires the transport system to be safe to ensure that human health is not at risk.
Environmental sustainability is affected negatively by transport through the consumption of
non‐renewable energy, the emissions of harmful pollutants and greenhouse gases, through
the generation of waste and by a reduction of natural habitat.
Providing access to social services and markets
Increased urbanization has led to congestion issues in many cities throughout the ECE
region. In addition to this the ageing ECE population requires special transport
considerations. These issues have to be addressed with an urgency of first degree.
International accessibility is crucial for economic sustainability. Missing international links
combined with growing congestion at borders reduce the fluidity of international freight
flows, which is a burning challenge for some ECE countries.
Making funds last longer
Many ECE member states have experienced a collapse of public transport during the last
decades. Public transport is important for social, economic and environmental sustainability.
The lack of sound multi‐year investment programs, backlogs in maintenance investments
combined with lack of public funds create a challenging situation in many UNECE countries.
A first urgency has been identified for the improvement of individual and social affordability.
A safe and secure transport system
Every day more than 300 people are killed on roads in the ECE region. Many of these
fatalities can be avoided if the traffic rules are respected. For example in the United States of
America drink‐driving kills more than 15,000 people every year. Not only safety measures
but also security initiatives are needed as New York in 2001, Madrid in 2004, London in 2005
and most recently Moscow in 2010 showed that that all transport modes are at risk of
terrorist attacks. Improving transport safety, particularly road traffic safety is of first degree
urgency. The same applies for inland transport security.
Environmental sustainability
The emission of local pollutants has come under control through the work of the UNECE
World Forum on Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP. 29) and within the European
Union (EU) through the EURO‐standards system. Achievements in this field are
commendable, but implementation should follow in all countries. Therefore decreasing local
pollutants receives a second degree of urgency. On the other hand, the emission of
greenhouse gases from transport continues to rise and further attention to this issue is
needed in order to get emissions under control. Actual actions are sporadic and often timid.
UNECE works for sustainable development
Each UNECE country recognises that transport is an important tool to help meet overall
sustainability objectives. Attributes of sustainable transport follow from the expanded
definition of sustainable development: sustainable transport is safe, high‐quality, and
accessible to all; ecologically sound; economically viable; and a positive contributor to local,
national and international development. Specific goals for sustainable transport may include
improved service quality and quality of access to goods and services, safety, improved air
quality, noise reduction, improved water quality, protection of natural habitat and open
space, historic preservation, reduced carbon emissions, increased social equity, economic
development, and a satisfying quality of life, as well as local goals consistent with the overall
objective.
UNECE addresses sustainability of transport through the different legal instruments, through
its analytical work and technical assistance activities, as well as through its main governing
structures, i.e. the traditional work of the Working Parties. The following table summarises
how sustainability and its key areas: access, affordability, safety, security and environmental
protection are incorporated into the UNECE work programme. Assessing the role of UNECE
in promoting sustainable development of transport we can make the following observations:
‐ UNECE by its mandate and traditional approach is primarily focusing on international
transport, while sustainability measures require a system‐approach, i.e. considering
local, regional, national and international transport;
‐ UNECE is playing a key role in some areas of sustainability, like international access,
road traffic safety, environmentally friendly vehicles and inter‐modal transport. At
the same time having a marginal or no role in other important areas. In light of the
resource constraints, this selectivity will likely to continue also in the future.
* in cooperation with OTIF
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