Deputy Secretary-General Urges Advisory Group Members on Sustainable Transport to Be ‘Strategic Thinkers and Promoters’ of Forward-Looking Ideas

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the Secretary-General’s High-level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport, in New York today:

I bring you greetings from the Secretary-General, who is looking forward to his meeting with you tomorrow.  You have extremely important work ahead of you.

Before my appointment as Deputy Secretary-General, I was for many years involved in mediation or in humanitarian missions, not least in Africa and the Middle East.  I witnessed what a lack of transport infrastructure means for life and livelihoods.  But, over the years, I have also noted how important effective and sustainable transport solutions are, both for people, local communities, nations and for the environment.

So, I am glad to have this opportunity to share some of my observations on sustainable transport with you today.

Before that, I would like to thank you for accepting the Secretary-General’s invitation to serve on the Advisory Group.  You are all leaders with heavy responsibilities and busy schedules.  Your willingness to give your time and energy to this group is testimony to your commitment to sustainable development.

Sustainable transport is a crucial element of our shared vision for the post-2015 sustainable development agenda.  Here is why.

First, it substantially helps our work against climate change.  The effect of transport on total greenhouse gas emissions is estimated to grow from one quarter today to one third by 2050.

Transport is the main source of air pollution, leading to 7 million premature deaths every year.  Therefore, reducing emissions from the transport sector is critical to combatting climate change and promoting public health and safety.

I know that many of you attended the Secretary-General’s successful Climate Summit and contributed to the launch of important initiatives in the transport area.  I commend and thank you for taking these initiatives.  You are, by that, leading by example.

The second reason why transport is an important part of sustainable development has to do with cities and urbanization.  Population growth and urbanization are projected to add 2.5 billion people to the world’s urban population by 2050.  Nearly 90 per cent of this increase will be concentrated in Asia and Africa.

Without sustainable transport infrastructure, this rate of urbanization cannot be achieved in a sustainable way.  Affordable, accessible and clean means of transport, relying on mass transit and non-motorized alternatives, will be a key characteristic of sustainable cities in the future.

Third, sustainable transport is a key enabler of poverty alleviation and sustainable growth.  Accessible transport means that poor and vulnerable groups can travel to jobs, schools, hospitals, clinics and other public services.  Varied modes of transport in rural areas allow farmers to gain access to markets and to be part of global supply chains and value chains.

For example, Kenya's flower sector currently ranks as one of the economy’s fastest-growing industries, the third largest foreign exchange earner after tourism and tea, and employs hundreds of thousands of people.  All three top industries of Kenya — tourism, tea and horticulture — depend on well-functioning and sustainable transport.  You have a substantive agenda ahead of you and your tasks are wide-ranging and daunting.  It will not be an easy mission.

But, it is achievable and truly important, and the Secretary-General and I have full confidence in you.

I encourage you to promote sustainable transport that is closely aligned with the objectives of fighting climate change, promoting inclusive growth and social development, as well as protecting the global environment.

I hope you will be outspoken advocates of sustainable transport and sustainable development, working with governments, local authorities, industry and civil society.

I hope you will be both strategic thinkers and promoters of concrete, forward-looking ideas, advising the Secretary-General on the most effective ways of advancing sustainable transport across different sectors, in both developed and developing countries.  We need a comprehensive analysis that brings together the various modes of transport and takes social and development aspects into account.

I call on you to propose partnerships that can deliver on these goals and support resilient and sustainable transport infrastructure.

We would like you to focus on results, defining goals and targets that will help the United Nations to generate momentum for actions to advance sustainable transport at local, national, regional and global levels.

Transport infrastructure will be growing in the coming decades. It is forecast to attract trillions of [United States] dollars in investments.

We need to make sure that better infrastructure promotes small- and medium-sized enterprises, reduces costs and leads to durable growth.   We need to make sure that these savings go to sustainable transport — including mass transit, railways and research into fossil fuel alternatives.

I wish you a productive series of meetings.  The Secretary-General looks forward to receiving your recommendations in due time on the important way forward.