UN Decade of Sustainable Transport will start in 2026!
The UN Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026–2035), established by the UN General Assembly in 2023 through resolution 78/148, aims to accelerate global action toward safe, affordable, accessible, and low-carbon transport systems. Coordinated by UN DESA with Regional Commissions and partners, the Decade promotes integrated solutions that link transport with climate action, health, equity, and economic resilience, advancing the Sustainable Development Goals through innovation, policy coherence, and inclusive mobility for all.
As mandated through General Assembly resolution 78/148 titled “Strengthening the links between all modes of transport to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”, the Implementation Plan for the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026–2035) has been prepared by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) in collaboration with the United Nations Regional Economic Commissions, within their respective mandates, and in consultation with Member States, specialized agencies, funds, programmes, and bodies of the United Nations, as well as other intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and relevant stakeholders.
The Implementation Plan provides a shared vision for the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport and outlines six priority areas and the means of implementation needed for transformative action by all relevant stakeholders.
The UN General Assembly Resolution also recognises “the need for continued cooperation and coordination between the United Nations and existing partnerships on sustainable transport issues such as (…) SLOCAT”, among others. Building upon the paper “Inputs to the UN Process” published last year in collaboration with the UK-funded High Volume Transport Applied Research Programme, this new SLOCAT paper outlines what the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport can achieve, as well as priority areas and critical levers of change for the next 10 years.
This paper is intended as a contribution to support the ongoing works on the UN Implementation Plan for the UN Decade, and is informed by the discussions held at the workshop co-organised in April 2025 by SLOCAT, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (UK FCDO) and Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), in collaboration with FIA Foundation, Kühne Climate Center (KCC) and World Resources Institute (WRI). The workshop brought together a mix of participants from diverse professional backgrounds, geographies and transport development contexts, and continued contributing collective thought leadership and stakeholder engagement in the preparations towards the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport.
Reinforcing Sustainable Transport’s Central Role in Thriving Communities and Economies
Transport is the lifeline of our societies and economies. Expanding passenger and freight transport services that are efficient, accessible, affordable, safe, sustainable and resilient is among the most impactful steps to enable inclusive communities and shared prosperity for a liveable planet. To get there, changes in the policy, resources, practice, mental models, and relationships for transport are needed.
The first-ever United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport should serve as a global call to action, encouraging and supporting governments, businesses, users, financiers, civil society, and academia worldwide to accelerate both individual and collaborative efforts in advancing sustainable transport. This UN Decade must foster inclusive, coordinated and transformative progress to strengthen transport systems and services that are socially inclusive, economically viable, environmentally responsible, and resilient.
Operationalising the Implementation Plan
of the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport
Think-tank Session
This session took place on the occasion of the official launch of the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport. It will bring together a small group of transport actors representing diverse geographies, transport development contexts, and areas of professional practice, and who are attending the official launch.
This Think-Tank session aimed to provide a space for collective reflection on how to operationalise the Implementation Plan of the UN Decade and advance sustainable transport in real-world contexts. While also building shared understanding on priority needs and opportunities for enhanced international
multi-actor cooperation on three thematic areas, namely: data & research, technical capacity building, and finance, with a special attention to low-and middle-income countries.
Towards the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport Multi-Stakeholder Workshop
This workshop brought together a mix of participants from transport professional associations, NGOs, think tanks, academia, government, development cooperation entities, and multilateral organisations representing diverse geographies and transport development contexts. The workshop is co-organised by SLOCAT, the
UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), in collaboration with FIA Foundation, Kühne Climate Center (KCC) and World Resources Institute (WRI).The workshop aims to contribute inputs to the preparations towards the first ever
United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport, set to start in 2026. This workshop is part of a series of stakeholder spaces convened by SLOCAT since early 2024. SLOCAT aims to serve as one of the initiatives that assists the United Nations in developing and implementing the United Nations Decade of Sustainable
Transport