On 8 August 2014, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced the membership of a High-level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport (HLAGST) to provide recommendations on sustainable transport actionable at global, national, local and sector levels.

The Advisory Group, established for a period of three years, will work with Governments, transport providers (aviation, marine, ferry, rail, road, and urban public transport), businesses, financial institutions, civil society and other stakeholders to promote sustainable transport systems and their integration into development strategies and policies, including in climate action. It will promote sustainable transport that is in line with inclusive and equitable growth, social development, protection of the global environment and ecosystems, and addressing climate change. To accomplish its aims, the Advisory Group will:

• Provide a global message and recommendations on sustainable transport, including on innovative policy and multi-stakeholder partnerships for sustainable transport.
• Launch a “Global Transport Outlook Report” to provide analytical support for these recommendations.
• Help mobilize action and initiatives in support of sustainable transport among key actors, including Member States, development finance institutions, bilateral development partners, transport providers, urban authorities and land-use planners.
• Seek to promote the integration of sustainable transport in relevant intergovernmental processes, including making recommendations on the formulation and implementation of the post-2015 development agenda.

Olof Persson, Chief Executive Officer of the Volvo Group and Carolina Tohá, Mayor of Santiago, Chile, have been appointed as Co-Chairs of the Advisory Group. 

Several SLoCaT members have contributed to the Position Paper on Financing Sustainable Transport by the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport (HLAGST). The Position Paper welcomes a number of outcomes of the Third International Conference on Financing for Developement, which takes place from July 13th to 16th in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. For a full version of the Position Paper, please go to here.

The SLoCaT Secretariat has also played a lead role in the development of two issue briefs on SDGs and the Post-2015 Development Framework & Financing in support of the work of the HLAGST. A large number of SLoCaT members have contributed to the input process. These issues briefs are expected to be a contribution towards the Global Report on Sustainable Transport, which will be one of the main outputs of the HLAGST.

Members of the Secretary General’s High-Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport

• Olof Persson (Sweden), Chief Executive Officer of the Volvo Group, Co-Chair
• Carolina Tohá (Chile), Mayor of Santiago, Chile, Co-Chair
• Frank Appel (Germany), Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Post DHL
• Milica Bajic-Brkovic (Serbia), President of the International Society of City and Regional Planners
• Morten Engelstoft (Denmark), CEO of Services & Other Shipping
• Alain Flausch (Belgium), Secretary-General of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP)
• Maty Mint Hamady (Mauritania), Mayor of Nouakchott
• Patrick Ho (Hong Kong, China), Deputy Chairman and Secretary-General of China Energy Fund Committee
• Victor Kiryanov (Russian Federation), Deputy Minister of Interior of the Russian Federation
• Jean Pierre Loubinoux (France), Director-General of the International Union of Railways
• Tanya Müller Garcê (Mexico), Secretary of Environment of Mexico City and Vice-President of the World Green Infrastructure Network
• Len Roueche (Canada), Chief Executive Officer of Interferry

 For more information, please visit http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?menu=1843.