UNUnited Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Press Release

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Looking for information on transport, environment and health?
Visit THE PEP Clearing House!

Geneva, 6 December 2005 - A web-based portal – the Clearing House on Transport, Health and Environment has been launched by UNECE and WHO/Europe as part of their joint activities under the Transport, Health and Environment Pan-European Programme (THE PEP).

Did you know that: Transport sector is a major source of CO2 emissions and energy consumption? Freight and passenger volumes have more than doubled during the past 30 years in Western Europe? Car crashes cause over 100 000 road deaths per year in Europe, of which about 65% occur in towns? Now you can find this and other information on THE PEP Clearing House!

What is THE PEP? The continuous expansion of transport in the pan-European region brings with it significant social and economic benefits, but at the same time raises concerns about the environmental and health impacts. UNECE and WHO/Europe countries adopted the Transport, Health and Environment Pan-European Programme (THE PEP) in 2002 to provide the framework for sustainable transport development taking into account environmental and health concerns.

What is THE PEP Clearing House? A web portal designed to facilitate exchange of information and knowledge across the transport, environment and health sectors in the pan-European region. It aims to address, in particular, the needs of countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) and of South-Eastern Europe (SEE). It serves to collect, disseminate and exchange information on sustainable transport policies, legislation, research and good practices. Its information content covers more than 100 topics relevant to the transport, environment and health sectors, including as priorities: health and environmental effects of transport, policy integration, urban transport and transport demand management.

The Clearing House has a very practical organization and intuitive method to access information on air pollution or noise in urban area, policies regarding the effects of private cars or any other topics covered by THE PEP.

For whom? It is primarily targeted to policy and decision makers. It addresses, in particular, the needs of national and local authorities as well as transport planners in the design, communication and implementation of sustainable transport policies.

By whom? It is a joint project by UNECE and WHO/Europe, developed under THE PEP, with input from n ational experts. Representatives of diverse institutions can register with the Clearing House and upload relevant information. Additional and more sophisticated services can be added in the future, such as interactive forums and information on training programmes.

If you want to find out more, click now on: http://www.thepep.org/CHWebSite (Available in English, French and Russian)


For more information visit THE PEP Clearing House website, read the Clearing House information flyer or contact Angela Sochirca at [email protected] or Francesca Racioppi at [email protected].

Ref: ECE/ENV/05/P10