Building back better: investing in resilience and the shift to sustainable freight.

The sustainability of freight transport is a long-standing concern. However, it has become particularly pressing owing to the transport sector’s escalating negative externalities which are undermining the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The pandemic has lent greater urgency to the issue of resilience and the shift to greater sustainability in line with the worldwide ambition to build back better from the crisis

 Increasingly, the transport-related response to the outbreak has a strong environmental component. This is the result of greater momentum gained by international rail and waterborne transport but also the use of smart transport and logistics practices, which tend to produce environmental benefits by optimizing transport and logistics operations. As the pandemic recedes, it will be important to retain, to the greatest extent possible, the use of numerous avoid-shift-improve techniques and new technologies and the greater use of more environmentally conscious modes of transport and avoid a return to the unsustainable status quo. 

Resilience and sustainability are inextricably linked; greater resilience in transport connectivity should lead to higher levels of efficiency in the system, and efficiency is often positively correlated with sustainability. For example, efficiency improvements that reduce energy consumption will lead to lower emissions. All elements of sustainable transport development, namely the economic, social and environmental elements, are especially relevant in the context of the pandemic and recovery as they relate to maintaining the movement of freight transport and system performance for continuous economic benefits, the health and safety of transport workers and the environmental impact of transport connectivity activities. The cause of greater sustainability and resilience is gaining ground in Asia and the Pacific but still comes second to more immediate practical and economic concerns.

There is an imperative need to steer recovery efforts in Asia and the Pacific towards greater resilience and sustainability in the transport sector. But so far, substantial work on sustainable freight has proved particularly complex. 

Enhancing the sustainability and resilience of freight transport is fraught with multiple challenges, many of which emanate from fragmented layers of policymaking. As an example, transport infrastructure and services are regulated at numerous levels of government (national, subnational and local) and across transport modes, and each level of government has a role in planning, funding and managing some aspect of transport infrastructure and services. Layers of institutional complexity confound the creation of efficient transport networks and intermodal connections. 

To address these issues with due regard to resilience and sustainability challenges in the context of COVID-19, the secretariat is implementing a United Nations Development Account project on promoting a shift towards sustainable freight transport in the Asia-Pacific region. The project has two tracks. In the first track, national assessments of target countries are being conducted to develop national strategies for deepening sustainability in freight transport in the post-COVID-19 context for endorsement by the Governments concerned. In the second track, regional cooperation will be broadened on key issues in sustainable freight transport by developing consensus and possibly adopting a dedicated framework or other instruments within the overarching institutional framework provided by the Intergovernmental Agreements on the Asian Highway Network, the Trans-Asian Railway Network and Dry Ports . 

The avoid-shift-improve approach can provide key directions to resolve the complex challenges in enhancing sustainability in freight transport.28 However, it needs to be supplemented by complementary policies in several areas. 

 The first area requiring complementary policies is institutional capacity for sustainable freight transport. This would include fostering polices that accomplish the following: (a) integrate transport planning efforts, both vertically across levels of government and horizontally across modes, with balanced development of modes; (b) create supportive institutional, legal and regulatory frameworks for sustainable freight transport; (c) build the technical capacity of transport planners to mainstream sustainability in freight transport; (d) establish monitoring and evaluation frameworks for measuring progress towards sustainable freight transport; and (e) build capacity for gathering and analysing data. µ

The second area is financing for sustainable freight transport. This area would include furthering polices that accomplish the following: (a) promote diversified funding sources and coherent fiscal frameworks to advance sustainable freight transport initiatives; (b) encourage private sector investment; and (c) attract financing from international institutions including thematic funds such as climate funds.  The third area is transformative transport technologies for sustainable freight transport. This would include encouraging policies that promote emerging transport technologies to enhance the sustainability of freight transport. 

In addition, coordinated action at the regional level could include initiatives such as shifting to more sustainable modes of transport and deepening 

the sustainability of rail, road and waterborne transport through a range of measures such as those related to fiscal and regulatory issues, technology and innovation, and land use regulation. In that regard, the secretariat is developing recommendations on regional cooperation that will be presented to the Working Groups on the Asian Highway, on the Trans-Asian Railway Network and on Dry Ports at their next meetings. 78. In addition, the secretariat is organizing a special policy segment, in conjunction with the sixth session of the Committee, on the lessons learned from COVID-19 and opportunities for a regional agenda for the digitization, resilience and decarbonization of freight transport, using the platform that ESCAP provides and leveraging global and regional partnerships