Sustainable freight transport and linkages to relevant global processes on sustainable development

The transport sector including freight transport is at the intersection of several global processes in particular the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The Freight transport sector is increasingly expected to address negative externalities arising from the sector’s activities. These include, to name but a few, air pollution, carbon emissions, congestion and road traffic accidents. Global processes of direct relevance to the freight transport sector and which underscore the need for the sector to balance its economic, social and environmental objectives are as follows:

1. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. The 15-year global framework came into effect in January 2016. Transport, including the freight transport was not specifically or explicitly mentioned in the SDGs. However, it was recognised as critical for the realisation of other SDGs. Eight out of the seventeen SDGs have included freight transport-related targets (Goals 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13). Table 1 illustrates the cross-cutting role of the freight transport sector as a key enabler of an effective and workable sustainable development agenda.

Table 1: The Freight Transport Sector and the Sustainable Development Goals

2. The Global Decade of Action on Road Safety 2011-2020: Its overall goal is to stabilize and then reduce the level of road traffic fatalities around the world by 2020. The global Plan serves as a tool to support the development of national and local plans of action, while simultaneously providing a framework to allow coordinated activities at regional and global levels.
3. The New urban agenda (Habitat III): It promotes age-and gender-responsive planning and investment for sustainable, safe and accessible urban mobility for all and resource-efficient transport systems for passengers and freight, effectively linking people, places, goods, services and economic opportunities. It prioritises Urban Freight Transport Planning and logistics concepts that enable efficient access to products and services, minimising their impact on the environment and on the liveability of the city and maximising their contribution to sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
4. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development: It considers the needs to address the special challenges and needs of landlocked developing countries in structurally transforming their economies, harnessing benefits from international trade, and developing efficient transport and transit systems.
5. The Paris Agreement on climate change: Adopted in December 2015 under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), it aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by mitigating the carbon emissions and keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the Agreement seeks to reinforce the ability of countries to deal with climate change impacts through resilience-building and adaptation action.
6. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030: It prioritises the resilience of new and existing critical infrastructure, including water, transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, educational facilities, hospitals and other health facilities, to ensure that they remain safe, effective and operational during and after disasters in order to provide live-saving and essential services.
7. The Vienna Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2014-2024: It confirms that the high transport and trade transaction costs remain a major stumbling block in the pursuit of landlocked developing countries to achieve their trade potential. The Programme of Action prioritises the development of adequate transit transport infrastructure networks and the completion of missing links connecting landlocked developing countries.
8. The SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway: It prioritises the development of a strategy and of targeted measures to promote energy efficiency and foster sustainable energy systems in small island developing States.
9. The Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020: It aims to develop and implement comprehensive national policies and plans for infrastructure development and maintenance encompassing all modes of transportation, communications and energy.

Table 2 highlights the way in which sustainable freight transport objectives interlink with the relevant international development processes.

Table 2: Sustainable Freight Transport Objectives and Linkages to Relevant Global Processes on Sustainable Development