The Road to Sustainable Transport

The report 'The Road to Sustainable Transport' examines the environmental and social impacts of global transportation, the evolution of international policy from the 1972 Stockholm Conference to the Sustainable Development Goals, and case studies of sustainable urban mobility. It highlights the role of public transit, non-motorized transport, and electrification in reducing carbon emissions and improving public health, while noting the potential for post-COVID-19 recovery packages to accelerate these transitions.

• Global transport is a major driver of environmental degradation and public health crises, accounting for approximately 64% of global oil consumption, 27% of all energy use, and 23% of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. Vehicular pollution is directly linked to nearly 185,000 deaths annually, while road accidents cause over 1.25 million deaths and up to 50 million injuries each year.
• Urbanization is rapidly increasing transport demand, with the global population projected to reach 9.9 billion by 2050. An additional 2.5 billion people are expected to move to urban areas by 2050, with nearly 90% of this growth occurring in Asia and Africa. Consequently, transportation is predicted to double between 2005 and 2050, and vehicle numbers may increase three- or four-fold, particularly in developing nations.
• Jakarta, Indonesia, has implemented a significant sustainable transport model through Transjakarta, the longest bus rapid transit (BRT) system in the world, spanning over 250 km. The system reached a milestone of serving one million passengers per day in February 2020 and integrates with smaller local buses and informal microbuses to reach residential areas.
• International efforts to promote sustainable transport have evolved from the 1972 Stockholm Plan of Action to the 2016 High-Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport. Five Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets are directly linked to the sector: road safety (3.6), energy efficiency (7.3), sustainable infrastructure (9.1), urban access (11.2), and fossil fuel subsidies (12.c).
• Various cities have adopted 'walkable' and 'cyclable' designs to reduce car dependency. Examples include Buenos Aires, where a 20-lane road was converted to prioritize buses and pedestrians; Guangzhou, which created a 500 km greenway; and Lviv, where complete street design improved cycle lanes. Additionally, the 'Share the Road' initiative has promoted non-motorized transport in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, and Indonesia.
• The COVID-19 pandemic provided a temporary reduction in pollution and an opportunity for structural transit changes. New Delhi saw some of its cleanest air in decades during the initial lockdown. European cities allocated at least EUR 823 million to active mobility and announced over 1,200 km of cycling infrastructure. In Bogotá, Colombia, an 84 km emergency bike network was established in March 2020.
• China leads the global transition to electric public transit, possessing more than 400,000 electric buses, which represents approximately 99% of the world's total. As of January 2021, China committed five times more funding to clean energy than to fossil fuels.
• Efforts to reduce emissions include the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV), which has helped reduce the use of leaded fuel in developing countries to only six nations. In Cairo, Egypt, a Vehicle Scrapping and Recycling Program resulted in the scrapping of 45,000 taxis by the end of 2018, reducing emissions by approximately 350,000 tonnes.

APA

Mead,, L. (2021). The Road to Sustainable Transport. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/road-sustainable-transport

Chicago

Mead,, Leila. The Road to Sustainable Transport. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2021. https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/road-sustainable-transport.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mead, |first1=Leila |title=The Road to Sustainable Transport |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=24 May 2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/road-sustainable-transport |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mead2021road, author = {Mead,, Leila}, title = {{The Road to Sustainable Transport}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/road-sustainable-transport}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }