Foreword of the Transport, Climate and Sustainability Global Status Report– 4th Edition, by our Secretary General, Maruxa Cardama.
Transport is the lifeline of our societies and economies, connecting people, communities, and goods. It shapes opportunities to access education, employment, healthcare, social services, and cultural life, while also underpinning economic activity at every scale. Yet, today’s transport systems still leave billions behind, perpetuate inequalities between countries, restrict opportunities for marginalised communities, and drive emissions, air pollution, and fossil fuel dependency. A just transformation of how people and goods move, and how transport is powered, towards systems and services that are socially inclusive, economically viable, environmentally responsible, and resilient remains as urgent as ever.
The impacts of climate change are no longer projections; they are a lived reality. Most transport systems worldwide have become more vulnerable to systemic shocks, disproportionately affecting people living in vulnerable situations and undermining economic development and connectivity. Wide-ranging challenges are putting already-elusive progress towards global climate and sustainability goals at greater risk, while recent years are shaking the foundations of international cooperation and multilateralism.
The year 2025 is pivotal. It marks ten years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and just five years remain until their implementation deadlines. It is also the year in which countries are expected to strengthen their Nationally Determined Contributions for decarbonisation, and the lead up of the first-ever United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026-2035). These milestones bring into sharp focus both the risks of inaction and the opportunities for bold, coordinated transport transformations.
The evidence is clear: current transport policies and investments are not yet aligned with the systemic shifts required to deliver on our shared inclusion, climate, and sustainability goals. Transport demand will continue to grow sharply, and without robust action, so too will its negative impacts. Yet the decade ahead is also a decisive window of opportunity. Many transport systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, are still being shaped. Choices made today will determine whether investments entrench costly, inefficient, polluting, and inequitable transport patterns—or unlock cleaner, more inclusive and resilient futures.
This fourth edition of the SLOCAT Transport, Climate and Sustainability Global Status Report (GSR4) builds on the legacy of this flagship knowledge series while looking resolutely ahead. GSR4 brings together the latest data, trends, and policies shaping sustainable transport worldwide, highlighting both challenges and opportunities for accelerating the transition — across demand, use, and access to transport, as well as climate and sustainability trends, and policy and investment developments. The goal? Equip decision-makers and actors within and beyond the transport sector with an assessment of the current situation, and with knowledge for faster, bolder climate and sustainability action in transport.
Since 2018, the GSR has grown into a powerful collective effort, with over 300 experts from more than 200 organisations from across the globe working together across editions. Whether as advisors, authors, contributors or peer reviewers, the diverse and multi-disciplinary community behind the GSR is what makes it so rich and relevant. This collaborative, open knowledge effort is not only a repository of evidence but also a platform for dialogue, co-creation, and collective visioning. It testifies to the strength of our transport community, which continues to mobilise and shape sustainable transport despite constrained resources and rising systemic shocks and challenges.
On behalf of SLOCAT, I would like to extend our deepest gratitude to all who have contributed to the co-creation of GSR4. A significant share of the research and drafting was conducted on a voluntary basis and it has been a great privilege to work with the diversity of voices and learn from the expertise across our SLOCAT Partnership and beyond. Your commitment reflects the spirit of collaboration and shared responsibility that is essential for the decade of transport transformations ahead – and that lies at the heart of SLOCAT’s identity.
This edition has been made possible thanks to financial support of the Drive Electric Campaign, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) through their International Climate Initiative (IKI), the Kühne Climate Center, and the Volvo Research and Educational Foundations.
As we approach COP30 in Belém, Brazil in November 2025 and the start of the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport in January 2026, this report stands as both a record of progress and a call to action: to accelerate transformation, to ensure transport systems serve both people and planet, and to seize the unprecedented opportunities of this decisive moment. I hope you will find this report a valuable tool.
