STATEMENT BY MR YVES BERTHELOT, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE, ON THE OCCASION OF
THE REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON TRANSPORT AND THE ENVIRONMENT
(12-14 November 1997, Board room, Vienna International Centre)
12 November 1997
Messrs.
Co-Chairmen,
Distinguished
Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and
Gentlemen,
It is both an
honour and a pleasure for me to address this Ministerial
Conference on Transport and the Environment. Such a gathering
is a first: never before has this subject, which is vital for
the sustainable development of our region and the well-being
of its people, been dealt with so thoroughly and at such high
level. The participation of many ministers in this assembly
and the substance of the texts submitted to you for approval
bear witness to the deep concern caused by the problems
raised here and to the commitment of all the countries in the
region to solving them.
We are in fact
faced with two realities. The first is the strategic
importance of transport from several viewpoints:
strengthening of the industrial fabric, link between
manufacturing and commerce, citizens’ mobility, closer
integration among countries of the region. The other reality
is the growing and legitimate concern that transport-related
pollution causes. This pollution poses a threat to
people’s health, it harms our natural environment, it is
a source of carbon dioxide and thus contributes to the
greenhouse effect.
The goals of
this Conference emerge starkly as a result: to adopt
immediate measures and launch a programme of joint action to
promote sustainable transport systems in our region. In the
long term, severing the link between demand for transport and
economic growth is inevitable. If this separation is to
happen smoothly for the economy and for the sector, it is
necessary to start reorganizing infrastructure and transport
right now so as to be able to meet the needs brought about by
growing trade more rationally and reduce the negative impact
of this growth on the environment.
From this
standpoint, the draft Declaration defines the objectives; the
Programme of Joint Action the measures to take. These
objectives show clearly the integrated approach that was
adopted. I should like to recall them briefly: moving towards
traffic volumes and transport flows that are compatible with
sustainable development; promoting the introduction and
effective application of technologies that bring down fuel
consumption and polluting vehicle emissions, as well as the
use of "clean" or more efficient fuels; developing
the most environmentally friendly modes of transport: public
urban transport, rail, and combined transport; protecting
especially sensitive areas from high-density traffic, because
of the vulnerability of their ecosystem, or the unique
character of their natural resources and cultural heritage;
reducing pollution in cities and in highly populated areas;
making the transport of dangerous goods safer; and, finally,
preventing the pollution of rivers, lakes, ports and coastal
areas.
For each of
these objectives, the Conference’s texts put forward a
package of measures and means: technological research and
progress, regulatory measures, economic instruments that
internalize environmental costs, land-use planning and urban
planning to reduce the need for journeys and cut their
length, awareness raising and training to change attitudes.
Some of these measures will have a fairly swift and visible
impact, because they stem from well-outlined government
decisions. Others, linked to the development of modes of
production and consumption and, more generally, lifestyles,
involve many more actors and will have an effect only in the
medium and long term. There again, the authorities have a
decisive role to play, because they must develop sustainable
systems of transport and provide the necessary incentives for
the production and use of these systems. On their part NGOs
have a specific role to play in encouraging changes, not only
by monitoring diligently the activities of the public
authorities, the enterprises and the consumers, but also in
promoting innovations and alternatives solutions.
The Programme
of Joint Action takes account of the complexity of the
measures and of the fact that they are at various stages of
development and application. It consequently envisages a
consistent and flexible follow-up mechanism to set
differentiated deadlines and indicate those responsible for
further exploring or strengthening the measures put forward.
On both the
national and international levels, many steps have already
been taken in line with the texts that the Conference will
adopt. They should be more systematic and better harmonized
between countries. Also, putting in place ‘focal
points’, as suggested in the Programme of Joint Action,
should facilitate communication and encourage cooperation.
The Economic Commission for Europe, for its part, is invited
to ensure the overall follow-up, given its dual expertise in
both transport and environment issues.
Over the years
the Commission has, indeed, built up a ‘corpus’ of
conventions, agreements and norms in these two areas. For
instance, of the more than 100 technical regulations adopted
by it within the framework of the 1958 Agreement on the
construction of vehicles, over 20 concern polluting
emissions, noise or fuel consumption. The amendment to the
1971 European Agreement supplementing the Vienna Convention,
prepared for this Conference, deals with the environmental
aspects of road transport. The European Agreements on
combined transport, rail transport and inland waterways help
to promote the development of infrastructure networks for
these less polluting modes of transport. Another example is
the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage
of Dangerous Goods by Road.
Concerning the
environment, two protocols to the Convention on Long-range
Transboundary Air Pollution commit Parties to applying
emission standards to mobile sources: one pertains to
emissions of nitrogen dioxide, the other to emissions of
volatile organic compounds. Beyond its legal instruments and
norms, UN/ECE is at the heart of networks of experts who have
helped to draw them up and who today ensure their continued
application within the framework of the Inland Transport
Committee and the Committee on Environmental Policy. The aim
is to involve both in the implementation of the Programme of
Joint Action, which to this end foresees that their Bureaux
should regularly hold joint meetings, to which
representatives of other European and worldwide institutions
would be invited. This mechanism will make it possible to
have an overview of the activities that are in place, to
assess their progress, to identify the hurdles and to share
experience, while avoiding the duplication of effort or the
setting-up of a new bureaucracy.
Preparing this
Conference has not been easy, but I shall draw an important
lesson from it for the future. For such complex and
politically sensitive topics, transparency and mutual trust
between the two sectors of transport and the environment are
indispensable if they are to respond to the problems, while
avoiding unnecessary friction.
The Economic
Commission for Europe, in cooperation with the other partner
institutions, is ready to carry out the tasks that are
requested from it in this context.
I, therefore,
wish that this Conference be the starting point for long-term
cooperation between these two sectors for the entire region.
The value of the texts that you are called upon to adopt and
sign lies in the fact that they proffer a solid basis for
such cooperation.