UN partnership pushes for global treaty on transport emissions

The partnership will push for a global climate treaty which will help control the growth of transport greenhouse gas emissions while also supporting the development of sustainable transport systems worldwide.
“A few weeks ahead of the Copenhagen Climate Change conference, it is imperative that we beat the drum for public transport as a sustainable solution, and joining this high profile partnership is our contribution to this” said UITP secretary general Hans Rat.
“The UITP Commission on Sustainable Development being part of the Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport Partnership is key to making the voice of public transport heard. Indeed, even the United Nations admits that efforts to combat climate change will fail unless action is taken to limit harmful emissions from the transport sector.”
“Our sector strategy, aimed at doubling the public transport market share by 2025, is a genuine call for action, among other things, to support the world’s ambition of combating climate change.
The partnership is a collaboration between developed and developing countries and consists of more than 30 major experts from international agencies covering policy, funding and transport. It includes the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs, the Asian Development Bank, the Inter American Development Bank and the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ),
The partnership’s goals are both “timely and necessary”; coming shortly after the United Nations Secretary General’s recent Climate Summit in New York, and will "foster momentum” as all stakeholders push hard for a fair and effective climate deal in Copenhagen this December, the UITP said.
“The agreement to be reached in Copenhagen must lead to a paradigm shift in the transport sector towards far more sustainable ways of getting from one place to another,” the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Yvo de Boer said.
“This new partnership has a key role to play in, for example, explaining to policy makers how precisely their economies can benefit from embracing green transport technologies.
“Business as usual is not an option if we want to reverse current trends and prevent catastrophic climate change.”
According to the UITP, transport-related carbon dioxide emissions are expected to increase by 57 per cent worldwide in the period 2005-2030, with the transport sectors of developing countries – particularly in Asia and Latin America – contributing about 80 per cent of this increase.
While developed countries bear responsibility for cleaning up their transport systems, urgent measures are needed to ensure that growth in developing countries is sustainable and proceeds on a low carbon growth scale, the UITP said.
In addition to participating in international climate change negotiations, the partnership will be involved in upcoming sessions of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Its establishment follows the May 2009 Bellagio Declaration on Transportation and Climate Change, which called for overhauling transport systems with more sustainable, low carbon solutions and approaches.