Special event at Delhi Sustainable Development Summit - 2012: 'Low carbon pathways for transport sector- Promoting railways’ share in  inter-city and regional passenger travel'

The UN General-Secretary’s new 5-Year Action Agenda identifies sustainable transport as one of 5 building blocks of sustainable development. Yet transport is virtually invisible in the initial framing of Rio+20, the June 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development. A growing number of multilateral development banks, bilateral development agencies, NGOs, and private sector actors, among others, are developing their own commitments to recognize and implement sustainable transport.

This event will discuss the critical role of transport in advancing a green economy within the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.  What can the Rio+20 conference contribute to the realization of sustainable mobility especially in the developing world where most of the growth in motorization is currently taking place?

Panelists

Thematic Focus:
This event will discuss transport’s role in advancing a green economy within the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication. It will focus on indicators and metrics by which the sustainability of transport investments, programs, and policies can be appraised and how these might be employed to frame commitments by various countries and institutions through the Rio+20 conference.

Speakers:

The Global Sustainability Institute (IGS) from ITESM in Mexico City, the Texas Transportation Institute and Bajo en Carbono Ltd. conduct the first Seminar on low carbon freight transportation. The seminar will take place at the IGS in Mexico City on April 25th. This forum aims to nurture the global debate on best approaches and case studies of success for policy development and implementation in a sector that has proven to be challenging in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries.

This event will discuss transport’s role in advancing a green economy within the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication. This will be the first time that mobility issues is discussed across all major groups to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. Transport is a key sector for sustainable development; improved access to markets, jobs, schools and health facilities are essential to make progress in realizing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The Decade of Action Policy & Donor Forum will address the role of road safety and sustainable transportation in contributing to shared goals for sustainable development, particularly in the context of the forthcoming “Rio+20” UN Conference on Sustainable Development, as well as focusing on the investment case for funding global road traffic injury prevention.

The Global Fuel Economy Initiative will take the opportunity of the ITF’s transport forum in Leipzig next month to reaffirm the commitment of its partners (IEA, ITF, UNEP and FIA Foundation) to the initiative; to launch its new 3 year workplan; and to share some new data on global fuel economy. We will also be announcing an exciting new partnership.

Managing growth in motorised land transport with desirable economic development is a key challenge for developing countries. Those that are making decisions that help put them onto a low carbon pathway will reap considerable benefits in the future. This is not easy but NAMAs are one possible way of linking the global commitment to reducing or at least mitigating CO2 emission growth with developing transport systems.

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) organised the workshop 'Moving towards sustainable mobility in cities: Preparing CMPs that promote sustainability' on 30 May 2012 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The workshop was supported by the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India. The workshop focused on the subject of mobility planning in Indian cities. The Ministry of Urban Development under the National Urban Renewal Mission has been encouraging cities to prepare their Comprehensive Mobility Plans (CMPs).