Launch of the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport 2026-2035
Today, 10 December 2025, the United Nations have officially launched the Decade of Sustainable Transport 2026-2035, a global initiative designed to raise awareness of transport’s crucial role in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In 2023, the UN General Assembly declared the first-ever UN Decade of Sustainable Transport to begin in 2026. Although no single SDG is dedicated exclusively to transport, the sector is mainstreamed across numerous goals and is widely recognised as a key enabler for achieving many of the targets. Transport is in fact closely linked to issues such as resilient infrastructure, economic growth, trade, energy efficiency, and tackling climate change.
Through the resolution A/78/148 ‘Strengthening the links between all modes of transport to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals’ Member States mandated the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs to develop an Implementation Plan for the Decade. This Implementation Plan serves as a strategic framework to guide global action towards more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient transport systems.
The Plan sets out a shared vision for the Decade and identifies six priority areas, together with the means of implementation required to drive transformative change across the sector:
- Ensure access to sustainable transport for all
- Advance low- or zero-carbon, resilient, and environmentally sound transport systems
- Enhance efficiency and promote sustainable connectivity and logistics
- Foster people-centred urban mobility and liveable cities
- Make transport safe and secure
- Leverage science, technology, and innovation
An historic global initiative
The UN Decade of Sustainable Transport represents a major opportunity to deepen global understanding of transport’s pivotal role for sustainable development. Transport and mobility are core components of can enhance economic growth and improve accessibility, social equity, and public health, while strengthening urban resilience, urban-rural linkages, and productivity of rural areas.
POLIS welcomes this landmark global initiative and will continue to champion the transition towards truly sustainable mobility, as our commitment extends beyond environmental objectives. As a proud co-signatory of the Call for Impact to Centre Equity & Inclusion in the UN Decade of Sustainable Transportby the Global Alliance for Feminist Transport, we support greater engagement of women and marginalised groups in shaping the future of mobility. This call aligns with POLIS’ mission to build mobility systems that are not only zero-emission but also gender-inclusive, equitable, safe, and that leave no one behind.
