UIC at the UN Earth Summit - Rio+20

 Sustainable Transport in the Cities of the Future

Joint Statement UNIFE UIC UITP

 UIC Activites at Rio+20

UIC will be organizing and speaking at many events at Rio+20. These are:

Panel Speaker: Side Event Financing Sustainable Transport to Support Sustainable Development

Date/Time: Thursday 14th June, 13:30 – 15:00

UIC will be on an expert panel to discuss options and practical examples of financing sustainable transport. UIC will focus on the development of railways in emerging economies in Asia and Africa. The lead organizer of this event is the Institute for Transport Development and Policy.

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UIC Side Event - Sustainable Transport in the Cities of the Future

Date/Time: Friday 15th June, 13:30 – 15:00

Venue: RioCentro, Room T-5

Featuring as keynote speaker the President of FeTranspor (the Federation of Passenger Transport Companies of the State of Rio de Janeiro) this side event will look at the sustainability challenges facing urban areas today and in the future, and how sustainable transport can meet these challenges. Other speakers include UIC, UITP UITP International Association of Public Transport , UNIFE UNIFE Union of European Railway Industries , the Japan International Transport Institute, and Holger Dolkmann, Director, EMBARQ / WRI.

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Panel Speaker: Side Event - Implementing Voluntary Commitments on Sustainable Transport

Date/Time: Sunday 17th June 11:30 - 14:00

All participants at Rio+20 are encouraged to make voluntary commitments. These will be compiled into an online compendium of commitments on the Rio+20 website. UIC has submitted our Declaration on Sustainable Mobility and Transport as the international railway sector’s Voluntary Commitment for Rio+20. UIC will be a panellist at this event, hosted by the EU, which will feature brief remarks from transport organizations describing their Voluntary Commitment.

Conference Speaker: Global Forum on Human Settlements and Electric Mobility

Date: Monday 18th June

UIC has been invited by the United Nations to address an important 1-day Conference on Electric Mobility being held as an associated event at Rio+20. UIC will make a presentation in Session 4 on the topic of the integration between railways and electric road vehicles. UIC will also co-chair Session 3 on the experiences using electric vehiclese in urban fleets.

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UIC / UITP / UNIFE Half-Day Workshop - Sustainable Transport in the Cities of the Future

Date/Time: Tuesday 19th June 09:00 – 14:00.

Venue: FeTranspor, Rua da Assembléia, 10, Centro – Rio de Janeiro

This half-day workshop is intended for transport professionals, national government and UN officials, journalists and other stakeholders, to showcase ways in which transport can contribute to a green GREEN GREen heavy duty ENgine economy. Speakers will include the President of FeTranspor, the President of Brazilian railway association EDLP, and a high-level speaker from the United Nations (invited).

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Event 3: Evening Reception : Sustainable Transport in the Cities of the Future

Date / Time : Tuesday 19th June, 19:00 - 22:00

Venue: Pestana Rio Atlântica Hotel. Av. Atlântica, 2964 Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro

UIC, UNIFE, UITP and the SLOCAT Partnership invite you to a high-level evening cocktail reception for diplomats, UN officials, national government representatives , transport professionals and the media. The event will celebrate the many different Voluntary Commitments that have been developed by the sustainable transport sector, coordinated by the SLOCAT partnership. Short remarks by the hosts will be followed by a speech from very special Guest of Honour, then plenty of time for networking with colleagues.

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 Background information

Earth Summit 2012 will be the fourth Summit of its kind and represents a milestone in the ongoing international efforts to accelerate progress towards sustainable development

The first Summit in 1972 created the UN Environment Programme (UNEP UNEP United Nations Environment Program ) and the 1992 Summit launched the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Changes ), which led to the preparation of the Kyoto Protocol.

 Expected Outcomes

Rio+20 will produce a political agreement between the governments of the world on how to achieve Sustainable Development. The agreement will set out key principles and aspirations, and will also establish targets called “Sustainable Development Goals” or SDGs. The next step following Rio+20 will be to develop a roadmap for how to implement these SDGs.

The other expected result of Rio+20 is a reform to the institutional framework of the UN itself. There are proposals for example to strengthen UNEP, ( the UN Environment Program) to give it more power to enforce environmental treaties. This is quite a controversial topic and it remains to be seen what the governments will agree to.

 Who will be in Rio?

Government officials, journalists, Civil Society groups from all 193 member countries of the United Nations. The UN expect around 50 000 people to be in Rio and to participate in some way.

 How rail should be positioned

Rio+20 represents an opportunity for the railways to promote their susatinable development advantages. This means not just promoting the excellent environmental performance of railways, but also promoting broader benefits such as safety, congestion relief and affordable access to mobiilty.