BEIJING, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- As mankind is navigating a shared path out of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is time for all hands on deck to make sustainable transport a force for the Sustainable Development Goals and climate action, Liu Zhenmin, under-secretary-general for the United Nations (UN) Department of Economic and Social Affairs, has said.
"We must move swiftly and wisely to accelerate progress simultaneously across multiple goals and targets with focused, global action. We need to direct our attention towards areas with deep, systemic links across the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development," said Liu in a signed op-ed.
Noting that one of these crucial areas is sustainable transport, Liu said in the op-ed, titled Sustainable transport -- our ticket to a better world, that it "aims to boost greener economic growth, secure universal access for people, enhance safety on the roads, improve resilience and greater efficiency, and reduce the environmental impact on the air we breathe."
Liu also said that it is still a long way to go to achieve sustainable transport, listing a set of hardships the world is confronting.
"Over a billion people lack access to an all-weather road and only about half the world's urban population has convenient access to public transport. Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among young people aged 15 to 29, and transport systems are not resilient enough in the face of frequent and more intense extreme weather events. Transport contributes about a quarter of direct carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels," Liu wrote.
Therefore, he called the upcoming UN Second Global Sustainable Transport Conference, to be held in Beijing from Oct. 14 to 16, as "an opportunity for the kind of knowledge-sharing, collaboration and dialogue, necessary to advance progress in sustainable transport."
"It is also a chance to recognize and record the extraordinary dynamism of multiple global actors whose commitments and partnerships are driving change," Liu added. Enditem
