By Taro IchikawaReproduced courtesy of IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
BANGKOK (IDN) - A new town of about 150,000 people is expected to sprout every day in the next 20 years in the Asia-Pacific region, increasing the urban population from 1.6 billion to 2.7 billion in 2030. This will also influence mobility patterns and private vehicle usage.
Compared to other regions, Asia and the Pacific already has the largest total number of motorized vehicles in the world. Consequently, the transport sector is emerging as the fastest growing source of global greenhouse gas (GHG) and accounts for 13 percent of GHG and 23 percent of energy related CO2 emissions.
This, according to the United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD) in Nagoya, Japan, is undermining human health, urban environmental quality, economic productivity, social equity, and all other aspects of sustainability.
With this in view, the Asian Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Initiative, which is a joint initiative of UNCRD and the Japanese Ministry of the Environment, aims to build a common understanding across Asia on the essential elements of EST and the need for an integrated approach at local and national level to deal with the multi‐sectoral environment and transport issues, including GHG emission reduction.
Presently, the participating countries include the member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka.
Under the Initiative, the First Regional EST Forum, held in Aichi, Japan, in 2005, resulted in the Aichi Statement, which articulated a comprehensive list of sustainable transport objectives based on 12 major thematic areas.
This Statement provides a basis for the participating countries to regularly report upon progress in reaching the objectives. Subsequently 44 Asian cities signed the 'Kyoto Declaration for the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport in Cities' endorsing the objectives underlined in the Aichi Statement.
In 2009, the Initiative produced the Seoul Statement 'Towards the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) for a Low‐Carbon Society and Green Growth in Asia'. This Statement particularly highlighted the need for regional efforts towards win‐win solutions that capture co‐benefit considerations in addressing sustainable transport and climate change.
The Fifth Regional EST Forum with the theme 'A New Decade in Sustainable Transport' from August 23 to 25 seeks to provide a strategic platform to discuss a range of issues in transport sector and develop a common understanding among participating countries on various sustainable policy options with a specific emphasis to developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
The Forum in Bangkok, Thailand, has been organized by the UNCRD in cooperation with the Thai Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE). Japan's Ministry of the Environment, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), and the United Nations Centre for Regional Development, with support from various international organizations and donor agencies.
The Forum in Bangkok is addressing a range of relevant issues and participants from around Asia are sharing practical cases under sustainable transport agenda such as building partnership and funding mechanisms to make things happen, urban and regional rail development, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), fuel efficiency, and sustainable freight transport.
In view of the fact that the issue of transport and sustainable development, among others, will be considered by the Commission on Sustainable Development in 2011 (CSD 19), the Fifth Regional EST Forum is expected to enhance regional input to CSD‐19 which will discuss and address various policy options on transport sector for sustainable development.
The principal output will be a legally nonbinding and the emerging 'Bangkok 2020 Declaration -- Sustainable Transport Goals for 2010‐2020', will set forth quantifiable sustainable transport targets for the year 2020. The voluntary targets in the Bangkok 2020 Declaration will be then put forward as a contribution to the CSD‐19.
ENERGY
While the transport sector has been an important factor contributing to the remarkable economic growth in Asia, it is the third largest consumer of energy in Asia, and its energy consumption is growing faster than that of other sectors and other regions, which is driven by a rapid increase in motorization and strong transport demands from economic development.
This, according to the UNCRD, has important repercussions not only in terms of energy security for the region, but also air pollution, GHG emissions, traffic congestion, injuries and fatalities due to traffic accidents, freight inefficiencies, greater rural to urban migration, and loss in economic productivity.
The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPoI) adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002 called upon governments and other stakeholders to implement transport strategies for sustainable development.
These strategies aim to improve the affordability, efficiency and convenience of transportation as well as urban air quality and health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including the development of better vehicle technologies that are more environmentally sound, affordable and socially acceptable.
These also help promote investment and partnerships for the development of sustainable, energy efficient multi‐modal transportation systems, including public mass transportation systems.
In line with the commitments made under the JPoI, appropriate policy frameworks, institutional and governance structures, partnerships and financial mechanism are essential for achieving efficient, safe, and low‐carbon transport system and services, says the UNCRD.
"There is a need for a wider‐scale adoption of integrated transport measures without which the opportunity for a pro‐active transformation of Asia's transport may be lost over the coming decade," cautions the UNCRD.
An integrated transport strategy includes both incentives for sustainable modes as well as disincentives for private motorized vehicles.
It also means that all facets of sustainable transport are developed as a complementary package, including the planning of non‐motorized and public transport options in both urban and rural areas, infrastructure for intermodal freight systems, business models for financially viable operations and maintenance, communications and outreach messages to influence behavioural patterns, and clean technologies to achieve energy efficiency and low emissions.
