Letter of the Day | Sustainable transport need of the hour

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Transport is vital for promoting connectivity, trade, economic growth and employment. On the other hand, transport is also implicated as a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. Resolving these trade-offs is essential to achieving sustainable transport and sustainable development.

The first World Sustainable Transport Day was observed on November 26. The United Nations (UN) defines sustainable transport as “the provision of services and infrastructure for the mobility of people and goods advancing economic and social development to benefit today’s and future generations in a manner that is safe, affordable, accessible, efficient, and resilient, while minimising carbon and other emissions and environmental impacts.”

Sustainable transport addresses the issues of universal access, enhanced safety, reduced environmental and climate impact, improved resilience, and greater efficiency. The importance of having a reliable and sustainable transport system was hammered home recently when Hurricane Melissa made landfall. It disrupted and destroyed a significant portion of Jamaica’s utility services such as internet connectivity and the electrical grid. Unquestionably, there is now a deeper appreciation concerning the importance of having sustainable transport. In addition to providing services and infrastructure for the mobility of people and goods, sustainable transport is a cross-cutting method that can fast-track progress towards other sustainable development goals, such as eradicating poverty, reducing inequality, empowering women, and combating climate change.

The UN emphasises the importance of cooperation in enhancing transport connectivity through an integrated intermodal transport system by developing quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, and exchanging best practices. Further, there needs to be optimisation such development. It is imperative that construction and operations of this infrastructure minimises consumption of energy, land and other resources; generate lower emissions of greenhouse gases , ozone-depleting substances and other pollutants. Global transport costs are a significant component of international trade, with logistics costs exceeding $11 trillion in 2023, or 10.6 per cent of global gross domestic product. These costs are influenced by factors like geography, infrastructure, and geopolitics. Finally, sustainable transport is not an end in itself, but a means to achieve sustainable development.

Let us be reminded that sustainable transport costs have significant impacts on the structure of economic activities as well as on international trade.

WAYNE CAMPBELL

waykam@yahoo.com