Beijing, China
Your Excellency Mr. He Lifeng, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is an honour for me to address the Global Sustainable Goals Forum 2024. Congratulations to the organizer on the opening of this important event, and thanks to all present for your commitment to sustainable transport and to the SDGs.
Transport connects us every day, and the modern world depends on effective transport systems. Sustainable transport systems are crucial for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change.
These systems are needed to boost growth, make connections and create opportunities to reduce poverty and inequality within and across communities and countries.
However, global transport systems often perpetuate the very problems that they are best placed to address. Recent data from UNCTAD and the World Bank highlight glaring disparities between developed and developing countries in the logistical complexity and costs of transporting goods. It is crucial that we address these disparities in our global policy discussions.
Likewise, we need to make global transport systems much cleaner.
Emissions from transport have increased rapidly, although with variations across different transport modes and regions. Transport accounts for around a quarter of direct carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion, and for over half of global oil demand.
The follow up to COP 28, and upcoming submission of new Nationally Determined Contributions for COP 29 are key opportunities to address these issues. Countries are expected to provide absolute emissions reduction targets for 2030 and 2035, covering all greenhouse gases and all sectors.
This will be a chance for national Governments to coordinate their climate actions across all relevant ministries and agencies, and to work with all relevant stakeholders, including academia, civil society and the private sector.
In this spirit, we welcome the initiative of the Global Sustainable Transport Best Practice launched by China’s Ministry of Transport and would like to further explore our cooperation in this area with all interested parties. We believe that learning from each other and sharing the solutions will inject the boost we need to make efficient progress in reaching the SDGs.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Member States are showing increased interest and strong needs in sustainable transport. Last year, the General Assembly adopted two important transport resolutions.
They called for closer UN cooperation, a UN Decade of Sustainable Transport to start in 2026, and for a Third UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference.
Member States also requested my department, UN DESA, to develop an Implementation Plan for the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport.
We have already started this work, in collaboration with the UN Regional Commissions and other UN entities.
We will be organizing Member State consultations here in New York on this topic in October and we will ensure dedicated consultation streams with the UN system and all other stakeholders, in-person and online.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Global Sustainable Transport Forum 2024 is a great venue to shape policies and forge unity.
I urge all participants of the Forum to contribute to our global efforts and to consider how we can jointly make the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport a success. We look forward to working with you on this journey.
I wish the Forum a grand success.
Thank you.