Thirteenth Intergovernmental Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forum in Asia

Background
Documentation

Background

Theme: Changing the Course of Asia’s Transport Sector through Transformational Change

The Thirteenth Intergovernmental Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forum in Asia took place virtually on 10-11 November 2020. The Forum (webinar) was co-organized by the Ministry of the Environment of the Government of Japan, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and the United Nations Centre for Regional Development of the Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG)/UN DESA, with the theme of "Theme: Changing the Course of Asia’s Transport Sector through Transformational Change".

The online Forum was organized in conjunction with the Sixth Session of the Committee on Transport of ESCAP (12 and 13 November), where UNCRD reported on the key outcomes of the Forum. The 13th EST Forum was attended by nearly 180 participants from national and local governments, UN and other international organizations, NGOs, scientific and research organizations and the private sector from 43 countries. The Forum introduced the draft new Declaration on EST (2021-2030), which is expected to succeed the current Bangkok 2020 Declaration (2010-2020) once it has been agreed upon at the 14th Regional EST Forum in Asia, to be hosted by Japan in 2021. With a strong tracking framework, the new Declaration is expected to be at the forefront of new collaborative approaches and interagency cooperation to enhance actions on sustainable transport towards achieving the SDGs and the Paris Agreement. The Forum also recognized that transformation is now the new normal and that the post-COVID-19 period offers new opportunities for investment in transport and land development sectors.

Pre-events