Background
In 2023, the General Assembly declared the first ever United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport to start in 2026.
While there is no single dedicated Sustainable Development Goal for transport, it is reflected in several SDG targets and recognized as an enabler for achieving many of the goals. Both the political appreciation of sustainable transport as well as our scientific understanding of transport’s linkages, both synergies and trade-offs, with issues such as resilient infrastructure development, food security, economic growth, trade, global supply chains, promotion of health, energy efficiency and tackling of climate change have greatly improved in the last years.
The United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport will be an opportunity to further raise awareness of transport’s crucial role in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals and to gather and rally new solutions, resources and partnerships to advance sustainable transport globally.
Through the resolution A/78/148 titled “Strengthening the links between all modes of transport to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals” the Member States also requested the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs to develop an Implementation Plan for the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport, in collaboration with the UN Regional Commissions and in consultation with the Member States, the United Nations system and all other relevant stakeholders.
The Implementation Plan for the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport will be a critical tool in steering global efforts towards sustainable, inclusive, and resilient transportation systems. By fostering collaboration, mobilizing resources, and ensuring effective monitoring, the plan can shine a light on the critical importance of sustainable transport, contribute significantly to its achievement and to the attainment of several of the SDGs.
The Implementation Plan of the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport is expected to serve as a strategic framework to coordinate actions, mobilize resources, and monitor progress towards sustainable transport worldwide. The Implementation Plan is expected to be global and non-binding in nature, allowing for more detailed regional, national and local plans, strategies and ways of collaboration, as suitable.
At best, the Implementation Plan can provide a roadmap for accelerating the steps towards sustainable transport during the Decade, enhance coordination and collaboration among member States and other stakeholders, mobilize resources for sustainable transport projects at all levels, and increase awareness and capacity building on sustainable transport practices. The Implementation Plan can also provide global visibility for sustainable transport in SDG discussions and allow for improved monitoring and evaluation of progress towards sustainable transport goals and on transport’s contributions towards the SDGs.
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Announcements
The United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport will be launched Dec 10 2025. Please check our website: Launch of the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport
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General Assembly
Concept Note
Additional Resources
2025:
- Dec 10: Launch of the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport
- Nov 13: Sustainable Transport Morning at the SDG Pavilion
- Oct 16: The Road Towards the launch and the Implementation Plan: A Stakeholder Briefing
- July 17: Initiating the UN Decade – an Implementation Plan for Sustainable Transport | HLPF 2025 Side Event
- June 23-24: UN Decade of Sustainable Transport – Building Capacities for Action and Seeking Feedback on the Implementation Plan
- May 22: UN Decade of Sustainable Transport at the International Transport Forum Summit 2025
- May 21-23: ITF 2025 Summit
- Jan 14-15: Capacity Building Workshop on Sustainable Transport for Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs)
- Jan 10: Global Online Stakeholder Consultation on the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026-2035)
2024
- April 24: High-level thematic event on Sustainable Transport
- July 11: Implementing the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport | HLPF 2024 Side Event
- Nov 19: COP 29 Sustainable Transport Day at the SDG Pavilion
- Nov 26: Multi-stakeholder Webinar on the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026-2035)
2023
The Road Towards the launch and the Implementation Plan: A stakeholder briefing - 16 October 2025
This virtual briefing, organized by UN DESA, provided an opportunity to share updated information with stakeholders about the 10 December launch event, the call for Sustainable Transport Action Commitments and the development of the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport Implementation Plan.
The webinar took place on 16 October 2025, from 9:30AM – 10:30AM (EDT/New York Time)
For more information, please, check: https://sdgs.un.org/events/un-decade-sustainable-transport-2026-2035-road-towards-launch-and-implementation-plan
Draft Implementation Plan – Call for Stakeholder Final Comments and Reflections - CLOSED
Responding to the mandate of the General Assembly, DESA has prepared the draft Implementation Plan of the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport, an action-oriented global policy document, in collaboration with the United Nations Regional Commissions. As requested by the General Assembly, DESA has actively consulted Member States, specialized agencies, funds, programmes and bodies of the United Nations, as well as other intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and relevant stakeholders to seek inputs to the Implementation Plan. This includes the online stakeholder consultation that resulted in valuable inputs from 113 organizations across 45 countries.
Stakeholders were invited to provide final comments and reflections on the draft Implementation Plan.
The global call for stakeholder final comments and reflections closed on 31 October 2025. All responses are available here.
Global Online Stakeholder Consultation - CLOSED
READ THE SUMMARY REPORT HERE
While there is no single dedicated Sustainable Development Goal for transport, it is reflected in several SDG targets and recognized as an enabler for achieving many of the goals. In 2023, the General Assembly resolution A/78/148 titled “Strengthening the links between all modes of transport to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals” called, among others, for closer UN cooperation, a UN Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026 – 2035), and a Third UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference, and the celebration of the World Sustainable Transport Day on 26 November 2024. Member States also requested the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) to develop an Implementation Plan for the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport, in collaboration with the UN Regional Commissions and in consultation with the Member States, the United Nations system and all other relevant stakeholders.
The Implementation Plan for the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport will be a critical tool in steering global efforts towards sustainable, inclusive, and resilient transportation systems. By fostering collaboration, mobilizing resources, and ensuring effective monitoring, the plan can shine a light on the critical importance of sustainable transport, contribute significantly to its achievement and to the attainment of several of the SDGs.
Global Online Stakeholder Consultation Summary
From 4 November to 10 January 2025, UNDESA conducted a Global Online Stakeholder Consultation to encourage inputs from stakeholders from different sectors to contribute their views, comments and inputs to the Implementation Plan of the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport.
The summary report on the Global Online Stakeholder Consultation for the Implementation Plan of the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026–2035) is now available, reflecting valuable inputs from 113 organizations across 45 countries.
Please read the detailed responses by stakeholders here.
To receive periodic updates about the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport, please sign up for the information mailing list here.
Multi-Stakeholder Webinar (26 November 2024, 9:30AM, EST)
To encourage broad and inclusive engagement in the lead-up to the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport, UNDESA organized a multi-stakeholder virtual webinar on 26 November 2024, from 9:30 – 10:45 (EST). During the webinar, updated information about the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026-2035) and its associated Implementation Plan was shared.
The webinar took place on World Sustainable Transport Day, providing a global opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of sustainable transport.
For more information and watch the recording, please visit the website.
All five United Nations Regional Commissions have held regional consultations that inform the development of the Implementation Plan of the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport.
ECA: 8th annual PIDA week (Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa), Celebration of the UN World Sustainable Transport Day: Leapfrogging to Sustainable Transport in Africa – Digital transformation and the Global Decade on Sustainable Transport: summary of the discussions
ECE: Inland Transport Committee, 11-14 February 2025, Geneva, Switzerland, Regional consultation 12th February: summary of the discussions
ESCAP: Eighth Session of the Committee on Transport, 5-7 November 2024, Bangkok
ESCWA: 25th session of the Committee on Transport and logistics 26-27 November 2024, Amman, Jordan
The United Nations system has been requested to provide inputs for the development of the Implementation Plan of the UN Decade for Sustainable Transport (2026-2035). Inputs have been received so far from the following entities:
International Maritime Organization (IMO)
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)
To kickstart the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport with tangible action, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs has opened a call for Sustainable Transport Action Commitments. These commitments and initiatives can be made by all Member States and other stakeholders, and they aim at delivering concrete progress throughout the UN Decade.
Deadline for submissions is 14 November 2025.
EACH SUBMISSION WILL NEED TO PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
- Lead implementing country/entity
- Endorsing countries/entities
- Initiative description (max 2,500 characters), including narrative, actions, and timeline
- Geographical scope of initiative (global, regional, or national focus)
- Focal point for follow-up
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
To be eligible, an initiative should be:
- New or represent a significant scaling up of an existing successful effort.
- Forward-looking and advance progress on sustainable transport.
- Follow the principles of the UN charter and SMART Criteria - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Resource based, with Time-based deliverables.
- Proposed by a single entity or a coalition, and open to additional participants, with sufficient capacity to implement the initiative in line with SMART principles.
VISIBILITY AND FOLLOW UP
Commitments will be highlighted throughout the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport at different United Nations events, starting with the 10 December 2025 launch of the Implementation Plan of the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport. To enhance transparency and accountability, all initiatives will be registered on a dedicated digital space, hosted on the UN Decade website, which allows the public to access information. The action commitments will become a prominent part of the implementation and follow-up of the UN Decade. Implementing entities will be invited to share updates on progress later during the UN Decade.
Participants can view the questions of the call for commitment to prepare responses. Please find the link to the questions here.
GA Resolutions
- World Sustainable Transport Day (A/RES/77/286)
- World Bicycle Day (A/RES/72/272)
- Integration of mainstream bicycling into public transportation systems for sustainable development (A/RES/76/255)
- Role of transport and transit corridors in ensuring international cooperation for sustainable development (A/RES/69/213)
- Towards comprehensive cooperation among all modes of transport for promoting sustainable multimodal transit corridors (A/RES/70/197)
- Strengthening the links between all modes of transport to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (A/RES/72/212)
- Strengthening the links between all modes of transport to ensure stable and reliable international transport for sustainable development during and after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic (A/RES/75/313)
