Transport as a sector is “off track” for reaching sustainable mobility, according to the Global Mobility Report launched on October 19, 2017
Transport as a sector is “off track” for reaching sustainable mobility, according to the Global Mobility Report launched on October 19, 2017.
According to the report, apart from being inaccessible to many, today’s global transport sector suffers from high fossil fuel use, air and noise pollution, rising greenhouse gas emissions, a significant number of road fatalities, and a delay in embracing new technologies.
The report is the first ever study to assess the transport sector’s global performance in sustainable development, produced by the Sustainable Mobility for All initiative (SuM4All) – a group of over 50 leading transport sector organisations.
It covers all transport modes and tracks the progress towards sustainable mobility in four main areas: universal access, efficiency, safety, and green mobility.
Key findings include that more than 70% of Africa’s rural population lacks transport to jobs, education and healthcare.
Inefficient supply chains are also negatively affecting farmer incomes worldwide by 10-100%, road-related fatalities are the leading cause of death among young people aged 15-29; and the transport sector emits 23% of global energy-related greenhouse gases.
A major factor in determining that the world is not on track towards achieving sustainable mobility is that the growing demand for the migration of people and goods is met more and more at the expense of future generations, a trend that the report says must be reversed urgently.
Contributors to the report emphasised the potential impact of sustainable public transport in advancing economic and social development to benefit current and future generations.
Sustainability in the transport sector can help expand labour markets, offering more and better opportunities for work and wellbeing.
The report’s tracking framework is based on indicators created for the Sustainable Development Goals and its baseline will be updated every two years to enable governments to see what steps have been made towards safe, efficient, clean and accessible transport.
Cornie Huizenga, Secretary General of The Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT), said: “The Global Mobility Report, with proposed targets on accessibility, safety, efficiency and green transport, will accelerate the transition to sustainable transport both in the developing and developed world.”
Jari Kauppila, Head of Statistics and Modelling of the International Transport Forum (ITF) at the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), said: “The breadth of knowledge assembled under the umbrella of the Sustainable Mobility for All initiative is what makes this comprehensive assessment of the transport sector possible and also unique.”
