United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
United Nations Collaboration
Sustainable transport and mobility of passengers and goods are fundamental to support the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Although sustainable transport and aviation are not represented by a stand-alone SDG, they are streamed across the SDGs and targets. Consequently, in 2018, ICAO and its partners of the Aviation Partnerships for Sustainable Development (APSD) continued to jointly sensitize high-level government officials, the private sector, the United Nations (UN) and foundations to raise awareness about the contributions of the aviation sector to sustainable development. The Secretariat strategically chose the following three premier global meetings and conferences to feature the APSD: the 2018 Transforming Transportation Conference organized by the World Bank; the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLFP 2018); and the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) 2018 Global Sustainable Development Summit. In each of these gatherings, the APSD illustrated the beneficial impact of aviation on the advancement of the SDGs in the least developed countries (LDCs), small island developing States (SIDS) and landlocked developing countries (LLDCs).
In the lead up to the HLFP 2018, ICAO advocated aviation as an enabler of the SDGs in the HLPF preparatory meetings in South Asia and Pacific, as well as in Latin America and the Caribbean Regions. This approach facilitated interaction with national government representatives as they prepare their voluntary national reviews for submission to the HLPF. At the Ministerial Meeting of LLDCs on Trade and Transport in Astana, Kazakhstan, ICAO sensitized high-level participants on the benefits of aviation as it facilitates international connectivity which is essential in the pursuit of socio-economic progress.
Within the international transport sector community, there is now growing consensus on the need and urgency for greater interaction and information-sharing among its actors, and coherence in their work in support of the SDGs. The Sustainable Mobility for All (SuM4All) Initiative aims to provide 53 leading transport organizations and agencies, covering all modes of transport and representing UN agencies, private sector, development banks, foundations, donors, inter-governmental organizations and international associations, with a neutral platform to discuss cross-cutting issues in support of sustainable development across all modes of transportation. In January 2018, the Consortium members, including ICAO, signed a Charter institutionalizing the Sum4All membership. Over the course of 2018, ICAO was a member of the SuM4All Steering Committee, giving the organization a voice in issues of governance and direction of the partnership. Over the course of 2018, ICAO, coordinating with Bureaux and Offices, ensured the accurate reflection of civil aviation within the SuM4All Initiative’s work. As a result, aviation has been integrated into the draft Global Action Plan, which is targeted to be released to the public in the Fall of 2019. The Global Action Plan is distinct in that it is a multi-stakeholder effort, which offers a menu of policy actions to achieve sustainable mobility. It is designed as a tool for laying out priority actions for planners, public decision-makers and the private sector to reach equity, efficiency, safety and green targets in mobility.
