The 2020 plenary session of the Inland Transport Committee took place on 25 February, with a high-level policy segment on “Environmental challenges to sustainable inland transport”.
Five years after the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement and the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations General Assembly, climate change and environmental challenges remain a global challenge whose negative impacts — from compromised infrastructures, to undermined access and connectivity, to road safety and beyond — can be felt in every region in the world.
At the same time, inland transport contributes to, and is disrupted by, climate change caused in part by the sector’s significant carbon footprint. The process of making transport more environmentally friendly and energy efficient, therefore, can lead to significant reductions on the sector’s carbon emissions, thereby mitigating the more pernicious effects of climate change and reducing the likelihood of climate change-related transport disruptions.
The Inland Transport Committee is uniquely situated to contribute to solutions as the UN Platform for Inland Transport and through its regulatory functions. Solutions proposed at the conference stand to result in real, tangible outcomes.
The high-level policy segment was enriched by side events and demonstrations of new technologies related to greening the sector.
| PROGRAMME Tuesday, 25 February 2020 ROOM XIX | PALAIS DES NATIONS | GENEVA |
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| OPENING OF ITC
10.00–10.30 |
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Mr. Kristof Schockaert, Chair, Inland Transport Committee | |
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Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary, UNECE | |
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Yuwei Li, Director, Sustainable Transport Division, UNECE | |
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Jean Todt, United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Road Safety | |
| High Level Policy segment | ||
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Session I: Climate change: The role of sustainable inland transport in emissions reduction and adaptation 10.30–11.30 |
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Moderator: Mr. Matthew Baldwin, Dep. Director General, Directorate-General Mobility & Transport, EU Commission | |
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H.E. Abdalla Mohamed Obaid Balhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Infrastructure Development, United Arab Emirates |
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H.E. Mr. Joel Biggie Matiza, Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Zimbabwe | |
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H.E. Mr. Emil Kaikiev, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Eurasian Economic Commission Highlights |
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Mr. Young Tae Kim, Secretary-General, International Transport Forum (ITF) |
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Mr. Umberto De Pretto, Secretary General, International Road Transport Union (IRU) |
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| Scheduled high-level contributions: | ||
| Mr. Klaus Bonhoff, Director General, Federal Ministry for Transport and Digital Infrastructure, Germany Mr. Dmytro Abramovych, First Deputy Minister, Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Ukraine |
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| Mr. Jan Hoffmann, Chief, Trade Logistics Branch, Division on Technology and Logistics, UNCTAD (PDF) | ||
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Coffee break 11.30–12.00 |
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Session II: What role for transport innovations in addressing effectively environmental and climate challenges? 12.00–13.00 |
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Moderator: Mr. Ralf Schultze, President, UIRR | |
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H.E. Mr. Elhadji Omar Youm, Ministre des Infrastructures des Transports terrestre et du désenclavement du Sénégal | |
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Mr. Kees van der Burg, Vice-Minister for Mobility and Transport, The Netherlands |
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Mr. Dmitry Zverev, State Secretary - Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation |
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Mr. François Davenne, Director-General, International Union of Railways (UIC) |
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Mr. Bill Halkias, President, International Road Federation (IRF) |
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Mr. Bruno Jean-Paul Georges, Secretary General, CCNR |
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| Scheduled high-level contributions: | ||
| H.E. Mr. Atageldi Haljanov, Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the UN Office at Geneva | ||
| Mr. Chaesub Lee, Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, ITU | ||
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Demonstration of cutting-edge emissions testing technologies both in laboratory and real-world conditions by DEKRA (Door 36 - Opening by UNECE Executive Secretary) 13.00–13.45 |
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ITC Delegates Lunch/Cocktail courtesy of the Federal Office of Transport of Switzerland (Bar Serpent, Palais des Nations) 13.45-15.00 |
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Session III: International cooperation for climate and environment solutions and the role of the ITC as the United Nations Platform for Inland Transport 15.00–16.00 |
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| Moderator: Mr. Kristof Schockaert, Chair, Inland Transport Committee | ||
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H.E. Mr. Bounchanh Sinthavong, Minister of Public Works and Transport of Lao PDR | |
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H.E. Mr. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, Minister of Transport of Ghana | |
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Mr. Gerhard Müller, President, International Motor Vehicle Inspection Committee (CITA) |
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Ms. Maruxa Cardama, Secretary-General, SLoCaT |
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Mr. Gavin Dunnett, Head of Mobility, European Investment Bank |
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Mr. André Rijnders, Chair, UNECE Working Party on Pollution and Energy (GRPE) |
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| Scheduled high-level contributions: | ||
| Mr. Michael Christides, Secretary General, BSEC | ||
| Mr. Ralf Ernst, Head, Environmental Activities, OSCE (PDF) | ||
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Closing remarks & endorsement of ITC Declaration: “Enhancing sustainable inland transport solutions to global climate and environmental challenges– a united call to action” 16.00–16.15 |
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Side Event - Road Safety Post-Stockholm: the next decade [Salle XXIV – change of venue] 16.30–18.00 |
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Evening Cocktail/Reception (by invitation only), courtesy of CITA 18.00–20.00 |
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