[sustran] SLoCaT: Mobilizing Effort to Promote Sustainable Transport at HLPF 2017

[Nikola Medimorec]

Dear Sustran-discuss subscribers,

The Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT)
<http://www.slocat.net/> would like to share with you a SLoCaT special
newsletter prepared for the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on
Sustainable Development which is taking place from 10 to 19 July 2017 in
New York.

HLPF is the United Nations central platform for the follow-up and review of
the 2030 Agenda <http://www.slocat.net/>.  Under the theme “Eradicating
poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world”, HLPF will this year
specifically review SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 3 (Good
Health and Well-being), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 9 (Industry,
Innovation, and Infrastructure) and SDG 14 (Life below Water). Transport is
directly included in two of the targets (Target 3.6 on road safety and
Target 9.1 on sustainable infrastructure) under review in HLPF. In
addition, there are three indirect targets (Target 1.2 on poverty
alleviation, Target 2.3 on agricultural productivity, and Target 3.9 on air
pollution) being reviewed in HLPF 2017 that have a transport relevance.

SLoCaT’s involvement in the HLPF <http://www.slocat.net/hlpf2017> is
directly linked to SLoCaT’s mission: “to promote the integration of
sustainable transport in global policies on sustainable development and
climate change”.

In this newsletter, SLoCaT presents:

1-Reflection on the integration of Transport in the High Level Political
Forum Process, focusing on Voluntary National Reviews, Second SDG Progress
Report and draft HLPF Ministerial Declaration
2- Other SLoCaT Inputs to HLPF Process
3- Overview of Sustainable Transport Events during HLPF
4- SLoCaT Outreach Campaign during HLPF

*1- Reflection of Transport in High Level Political Forum Process*

In order to understand how transport is reflected in the HLPF Process
SLoCaT reviewed the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) submitted by
countries, the second SDG Progress Report and the HLPF Ministerial
Declaration.  The treatment of transport in VNRs, the SDG progress report
and the draft ministerial declaration shows that, while there is progress
on transport’s inclusion in VNRs and SDG Progress Report compared to last
year, there is still much work which needs to be done in order to establish
a structured framework that effectively measures the progress made in the
transport sector towards sustainable development.

*- Gaps remain in reporting on transport and its contribution to
sustainable development in VNRs*
As part of its follow-up and review mechanisms, the 2030 Agenda
<https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld>
encourages
member states to submit voluntary, state-led, national reports known
as Voluntary
National Reviews (VNRs) <https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/vnrs/> to
report on the implementation of the SDGs.  Following an initial analysis on
the treatment of transport in the 22 VNRs submitted in 2016
<http://www.slocat.net/news/1824>, SLoCaT continues to track the references
to transport in the 44 VNRs submitted to HLPF 2017
<http://slocat.net/sites/default/files/slocatfiles/key_observations_on_transport_and_2017_hlpf_vnrs_2017_0.pdf>.
Only 64% of the 22 VNRs submitted in 2016 contain references to transport,
with not all references sustainability-specific. In 2017, 97% of the
submitted VNRs, all but one, have certain degree of references to the
transport sector.

The SLoCaT VNR Analysis shows that despite the slight progress made in 2017
compared to 2016, there is still much greater potential to raise the
profile of sustainable transport within the VNR process.  Only around 36%
of the VNRs give specific examples and references to link transport with
sustainable development impacts.

*- SDG Progress Report 2017 falls short in measuring progress in
sustainable transport*
The second SDG Progress Report
<http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=E/2017/66&Lang=E>was
released by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
(UN DESA) Statistics Division <https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/> in
June 2017.  Information on the global status on air pollution from traffic,
road safety, energy consumption, employment opportunities and economic
development driven by the transport sector are presented in the progress
report.

Compared to the first SDG progress report 2016
<https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2016/>, the second progress report has
expanded its references to transport and built somewhat stronger linkages
between transport and several SDG targets, such as SDG 3.6 (road safety),
SDG 3.9 (public health), SDG 7.3 (sustainable energy consumption), and SDG
9.1 (economic development). However, it has not included any information on
several key transport-related SDG indicators, such as SDG 9.1.1 (rural
access), SDG 11.2.1 (access to public transport), and SDG 12.c.1 (fossil
fuel subsidies).

*- Draft HLPF Ministerial Declaration has yet to include meaningful
references to scale up actions on sustainable transport*
In conjunction to the HLPF 2017, a three-day ministerial meeting will be
held from 17 to 19 July, 2017. A ministerial declaration outlining the
commitments of the ministers and high-level representatives from UN member
states to implement the 2030 Agenda is expected to be adopted towards the
end of the meeting.

The revised draft of the ministerial declaration
<https://ncdalliance.org/sites/default/files/HLPF_2016_outcome_zero_draft_20_June.pdf>
(as
of June 27, 2017) gives only brief and short references to transport’s role
in providing access and importance of maritime transport and trade. These
brief references to transport make no clear connection to the critical role
of transport in addressing the overarching themes of the 2030 Agenda on
poverty alleviation, food security, and leaving no one behind.

*2- Other SLoCaT’s inputs to HLPF 2017*

*- Country Reporting to Global Processes: A Case Study on Countries in the
Latin America and Caribbean Region*
An assessment  <http://slocat.net/news/1861>has been developed by the
Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT) to evaluate the
status of reporting of 18 countries in the Latin America and Caribbean
(LAC) region to the six global agreements on sustainable development and
climate change. This assessment is developed under a joint project between CAF
- Development Bank of Latin America  <https://www.caf.com/en>and the SLoCaT
Partnership. The assessment found that most LAC countries are, in general,
submitting the required reports to the six global agreements; however, the
level of useful detail in transport sector reporting leaves room for
improvement. It is also clear that countries have a tendency to report on
transport development in the context of infrastructure expansion and
economic development, but the emphasis on transport’s role in address major
sustainability issues is insufficient and inconsistent.

*- Factsheet: Key Messages on Rural Transport and SDGs*

A factsheet
<http://slocat.net/sites/default/files/u10/fact_sheet_key_messages_-_rural_transport_and_sdgs_0.pdf>
was
developed by the SLoCaT in partnership with, and support of the UK
Aid-funded Research for Community Access Partnership (ReCAP) on a set of
key messages on rural transport and SDGs. The five key messages outline the
critical role of rural transport in achieving the SDGs. For more
information, click here <http://www.slocat.net/ruraltransport>.

*- Special Blog Series HLPF 2017 of Together 2030*

The SLoCaT Partnership was featured on the Special Blog Series HLPF 2017 of
Together 2030, which is a civil society initiative promoting and tracking
progress of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The blog post
highlights a former analysis done by SLoCaT on the main messages of the
VNRs released in June 2017, which shows that only few countries have
included specific references to transport. Those that have included
transport confirm the linkage between transport and the achievement of the
SDGs, in particular on the role of transport infrastructure (e.g.
all-weather road, rail, and port facilities) and they refer to the
overarching theme of the 2030 Agenda to alleviate poverty, ensure social
inclusion and equity, and leave no one behind.  The blog post is available
here <https://together2030.wordpress.com/> and here
<http://www.slocat.net/sites/default/files/u15/blog_submissions_slocat_transport_references_in_vnrs.pdf>
.

*3- Transport events @ HLPF2017*

*Monday, 10 July*

   - How mobility can contribute to eradication of poverty & promotion of
   prosperity <http://slocat.net/event/1858> by the World Bank under the
   Sustainable Mobility for All initiative and United Nations Department of
   Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) @6:15pm-7:30pm,

*Friday, 14 July*

   - The Role of Safe and Sustainable Mobility in Eradicating Poverty and
   Improving Health <http://slocat.net/event/1856> by the FIA Foundation,
   The Global Initiative for Child Health & Mobility and The G4 Alliance @
   1:15pm-2:30pm


   - Rural-Urban Connectivity in Integrated Regional Development:
   Implications towards Livelihood Security and Poverty Alleviation
   <http://slocat.net/event/1857>by United Nations Centre for Regional
   Development (UNCRD) and partners @ 6:15pm - 7:30pm


*Tuesday, 18 July*

   - The Global Climate Action Agenda, a Solution Provider to Implement the
   SDGs
   <https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?page=view&type=20000&nr=3483&menu=2993>
by
   France, Italy and Luxembourg @ 6:15pm - 7:30pm

*Wednesday, 19 July  *

   - Aviation Partnership for Sustainable Development: High-level Briefing
   on Aviation Contributions to Sustainable Development in Countries in
   Special Situations <http://slocat.net/event/1859> by International Civil
   Aviation Organization, Air Transport Action Group and co-organizers @8:15am
   - 9:30am


*4- SLoCaT’s outreach campaign for HLPF*

To engage different relevant stakeholders in the transport sector, SLoCaT
outreach campaign for HLPF 2017 will run from July 6 to July 19. SLoCaT
 created a dedicated page on High Level Political Forum
http://www.slocat.net/hlpf2017,  and will use Twitter, LinkedIn channels to
promote transport’s contribution to the SDGs in review at HLPF; share the
findings from the VNR analysis; and highlight transport related side events
on a daily basis.

Key topics that will be included in outreach:

   - contribution of transport to SDG1 (no poverty), contribution of
   transport to SDG2 (zero hunger), contribution of transport to SDG 3 (road
   safety and good health), contribution of transport to SDG 5 (gender
   equality), contribution of transport to SDG 9 (urban/rural access),
   - the alignment with SuM4ALL four objectives,
   - the need to scale up attention to transport in VNRs,
   - gaps in Ministerial Declaration.

*For more information on SLoCaT Partnership and the HLPF Outreach Campaign:*
*Website: *www.slocat.net
*Contact: *Cornie Huizenga at cornie.huizenga at slocatpartnership.org
<cornie.huizenga at slocatpartnership.org>and Yuxin Wang at
yuxin.wang at slocatpartnership.org
Twitter: @SLOCATCornie and #HLPF2017

For the full newsletter, please click here
<http://www.slocat.net/sites/default/files/u10/slocat_special_hlpf_newsletter.pdf>
.

Best regards,


Nikola Medimorec



Nikola Medimorec
Senior Researcher
Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT)
+82-10-8642-4453 (mobile)
@ni_medi (twitter)
nikolamedimorec (skype)
www.slocat.net

* <http://www.ppmc-transport.org/> *