2020 UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference website launch

The UN Global Sustainable Transport conference, to be held in Beijing in 2020, aims to provoke discussion about the challenges and solutions that are contributing to sustainable transport goals. The objective is to confirm that the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will be reached.

The event comes after the first Global Sustainable Transport Conference which was held in 2016 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

According to the website, sustainable development fits into five key areas: people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership. While transport is said to improve connectivity ‘at all levels,’ it also has negative environmental, social and health impacts.

The website notes that transport generates almost a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, and transport emissions are expected to rise in the coming years, further contributing to climate change.

The conference hopes to discuss ongoing sustainable transport activity such as the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), the Group of 7 (G7) Leaders’ Summit and the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit.

It will seek to support a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), some of which are directly connected to sustainable transport through targets and indicators, and focus on road traffic, road fatalities and public transport accessibility, affordability and expansion.

The site details that almost one billion people worldwide still lack adequate access to road networks, which hinders their access to basic services and markets, promotes marginalisation and can deepen social inequities.

The event will connect key stakeholders from government, the UN and other international organisations. It will give the private sector and civil society the chance to discuss the integrative opportunities of sustainable transport and the various ways in which it supports the goal of the 2030 Agenda.

The event will address all modes of transport, including road, rail and aviation, as well as scientific and technological innovations within the sector.