At the Annual Summit 2019 of the International Transport Forum, the roundtable on transport and climate released a joint statement expressing the need to achieve low emissions in the transport sector. The joint statement can be found here.

Sweden has taken the initiative to draft a joint statement from the roundtable on transport and climate at the International Transport Forum in Leipzig. Participating ministers and state secretaries from Chile, Poland, the Netherlands, Morocco, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania and Sweden have agreed that the climate must be considered when developing national transport policies and programmes. 

The joint statement says:

JOINT STATEMENT

In view of the commitments made in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 2015 Paris Agreement, the participants of the Ministers’ Roundtable at the International Transport Forum’s Annual Summit on 22 May 2019, recognise that transport plays an important role in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and reducing global carbon emissions. Participants agree that there is a need to include all transport modes in the global effort to achieve low emissions and to enhance stronger collaboration across all stakeholders. More specifically, we:

• Acknowledge the need for objectives specifying reduction of climate impact within the transport sector.
• Consider urgent the development of transport-related climate change mitigation actions;
• Pursue a fair and equitable transition to a low carbon transport economy;
• Encourage efficient urban and transport planning in cities to manage demand;
• Prioritise energy efficient transport modes and vehicles;
• Support innovative transport services and technologies that contribute to decarbonising transport activity;
• Ensure efficient, safe and competitive transport systems that reduce emissions of transport-related CO2;
• Commit to working together to reduce transport-related CO2 emissions, and to increase collaboration, for example sharing of knowledge, skills and good practice in decarbonising transport with companies, regional and local governments, as well as cities and civil society.

The participants of the Ministers’ Roundtable agree to consider the above-mentioned initiatives when developing national transport policies and programs that will be aligned with their National Determined Contributions (NDCs) and climate goals.

We propose to review progress against the objectives set out in this statement at the High Level Event for Transport Ministers at COP 25 on 2nd and 3rd December 2019 in Santiago, Chile.

View the video announcement about the joint statement here.