Sustainable transport highlighted at ADB's Transport Forum
Several hundred experts and decision-makers from the fields of transport and international development gathered last week in Manila, Philippines, for the biennial Transport Forum arranged by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The theme of this year’s forum was sustainable transport.
As part of its climate change and development mandate, NDF has over a number of years focused on sustainable transport including both mitigation and adaptation-related activities. The NDF-financed projects cover a wide range of activities that relate to green, climate-resilient urban and rural transport.
The Transport Forum provided a good opportunity to highlight NDF’s experiences in enhancing sustainable transport in collaboration with partner countries, and sharing early lessons learned. NDF’s involvement in a pre-forum training on the topic “Demystifying Intended Nationally Determined Contributions and Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions in Transport” enabled sharing of experiences and a forward-looking discussion on future opportunities relating to the use of NAMAs.
A High Level Plenary also featured ADB President Mr Takehiko Nakao, who highlighted ADB’s vision for a sustainable transport future for Asia and the Pacific, the advantage of combining financing, knowledge and partnerships, and the importance of good project planning and preparation. The plenary also featured Ms Dorji Choden, Minister of Public Works and Human Settlements of Bhutan, Mr Wismana Adi Suryabrata, Deputy Minister for Infrastructure, Ministry of National Development Planning in Indonesia, Mr Nihal Somaweera, Secretary of Transport and Civil Aviation in Sri Lanka, and NDF’s Vice President and Deputy Managing Director Ms Leena Klossner. Ms Klossner emphasised the need for taking climate change into consideration in the endeavour to achieve more resilient infrastructure solutions.
The panel agreed that sustainable transport is an essential ingredient in and enabler of sustainable development and equal opportunities. Transport infrastructure lasts for decades, which means that the decisions that national and local governments make today will have long-lasting impact on how transport contributes to improving people’s lives. Ms Klossner also pointed out that while the concept of sustainable transport has gained significant importance, climate change continues to challenge the sustainability of infrastructure investments. Availability and reliability of climate data, acceleration of project preparation, and ensuring the availability of skilled human resources, are key aspects in achieving sustainable transport solutions.
The plenary attracted an audience of around 500 people from governments, national and international transport sector organisations and authorities, multilateral climate and development finance institutions, the private sector, and other international and national organisations from developed and developing countries.
