High-Level 14th Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forum in Asia | Department of Economic and Social Affairs

It is predicted that by 2030 Asia will have nearly half of the global population, with approximately 60 percent of global growth, 40 percent of total world’s GDP (in PPP), one third of global transport CO2 emissions, and almost 60 percent of worldwide road accidents and fatalities. With growing car ownership, Asian cities are in forefront of facing a number of challenges such as air pollution, traffic congestion, road accidents and fatalities and rising level of GHG emissions. To sustain ongoing economic growth, prosperity, and to achieve SDG 11, among others, Asian countries and cities will need a massive transformation in their transport sector. New innovations and technological advancement in recent years and innovative responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have provided opportunities for Asian countries, to not only recover from the pandemic, but also to transform their transport system (both passenger and freight) to achieving greater safety, affordability, accessibility, GHG emission reduction and resilience. Acknowledging that the required transformation in the transport sector in Asia will require a significant effort that will not happen instantly, and that there is a need for collective, focused, and coordinated action among all the Member Countries.

The EST member countries agreed that the new EST EST Declaration (2021-2030) is aligned with the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement, among others. The new EST Declaration (2021-2030) will act both as a catalyst and a framework for transformational change in the transport sector in Asia. This will include enabling changes to policy, institutional frameworks, funding and financing mechanisms, data management approaches, and support the application of innovative state-of-the-art technologies, foster communities of interest around each goal of the Declaration, catalyse strong collaboration between governments, donor, and international organizations, including MDBs and private sectors. The new Declaration will also provide a potential platform for achieving synergies in their capacity building programmes and activities in transport sector of Asia towards achieving the SDGs and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, among others. The Regional EST Forum in Asia with its new 2030 EST Declaration (2021-2030) aims to place Asia in the forefront of new collaboration approaches to improve reporting on progress towards the SDGs and the Paris Agreement on transport.

With the above background, the Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan; Asian Development Bank (ADB); United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP); and the United Nations Centre for Regional Development of the Division for Sustainable Development Goals/United Nations Development of Economic and Social Affairs (UNCRD-DSDG/UN DESA) will co-organize the high-level Intergovernmental 14th Regional EST Forum in Asia from 18 to 20 October 2021 in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, with the theme of “Next Generation Transport Systems for Achieving SDGs and Carbon Neutrality – for a Safer, Affordable, Accessible and Resilient Asia”, and in conjunction with other events such as Japan-ASEAN Smart City Network, HELP, SDG promotional events and technical tours.

How to Register for the 14th EST Forum?

Draft Concept Note

Draft Provisional Programme

Draft Provisional Programme in Japanese