Mr. Chairman,

Distinguished experts and delegates,
Dear colleagues,

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

1. At the outset, the Group wishes to extend our congratulations and compliments to the Division for Sustainable Development of United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) for organizing this Expert Group Meeting with the focus on specific needs and challenges in developing countries, which represent merely the entire members of the Group of 77 and China, in achieving sustainable transport.

2. Sustainable transport is of supreme importance to developing countries as it is a central component of sustainable development and contributes to its three dimensions by bringing about economic growth, social integration and environmental development. Despite sustainable transport is not a standalone SDG, it cuts across several Goals and targets, especially those related to food security, health, energy and infrastructure. Hence, adequate, efficient, affordable, safe, low-carbon and climate resilient transport options and infrastructures are important conditions for improving accessibility and connectivity that help integrating developing countries into the global supply chain, eliminating poverty and achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

3. Owing to the above significance of the issue, the Group of 77 and China would like to share our views on the respective agendas to be discussed at this meeting as follows:

I. Policy development and implementation

4. To respond to the urging needs for sustainable transport systems, we are of the view that the policy development should take into account the requirement for massive transformation from the current pattern of car-oriented development towards people-oriented development through a massive increase in public transport.

5. We wish to also highlight the importance of efforts to promote efficient and safe multi-modal transport systems such as BRT-systems, city trains, cycling lines and technology based transport systems to reduce congestion and pollution improving efficiency. Such policy could be complemented by people-oriented development planning based on compactness, improved density, connectivity, and mixed uses, as well as the promotion of fuel and energy efficiency.

II. Maintaining funding for sustainable transport

6. Development of rural transportation, clean fuels, bus-rapid transport, and multi-modal systems can contribute to eradication of extreme poverty and fostering development. Nonetheless, many developing countries still face considerable barriers and challenges in harnessing adequate and affordable transportation means and networks. Local challenges in developing countries are compounded by a global scenario of decreased financing for infrastructure development, increased volatility in global energy markets and the increasing needs to respond to climate change challenges. Most of the estimates available on transforming transport sector and investments are climate related. For the period 2015-2035, the Climate Policy Initiative estimates the cumulative transitional investment required to be just over USD 3 trillion of which over 70% relates to land transport.

7. In this regard, it is our great pleasure to learn that this meeting will discuss not only special needs and challenges for developing countries in achieving sustainable transport, but also the way forward especially on how to attract more funds to finance more safe and sustainable transport. We wish to reemphasise the dominant role of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) in the newly initiated Global Infrastructure Forum (GIF) which was inaugurated in April 2016, during which I myself attended on behalf of the Chair of G77 and China, with the aim to encourage financing for infrastructure for sustainable development including fostering sustainable transport. Even so, this effort should be complemented by cooperation and partnership between the public and private sector to channel transport demand in the direction of sustainable transport modes.

III. Harnessing and promoting access to new technologies

8. Technology plays a vital role in advancing sustainable transport. Transport technology has reduced negative impacts in the past, for example, cars and trucks emit substantially less pollutants than they did 3 decades ago, and are substantially more fuel efficient. Technology also plays an important role in improving the safety performance of transport systems, helping to reduce the rate of accidents and their severity. Further introduction of technological advances to support sustainable transport can have immense benefits, for example, through better city planning, shift to more sustainable transport modes like public transport, monitoring road traffic and public transport services for better route planning, improvement of transport through cleaner transport, and supporting the information systems for shared vehicle systems such as ride sharing services.

9. Though these improvements are largely the results of advancement in vehicle technologies, the Group wishes to highlight that they are unfortunately not equally shared between developed and developing countries. In this connection, the Group wishes to stress the importance of Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM), mandated by 2030 Agenda and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda in supporting the facilitation and transfer of technology to developing countries. With this direct implication, we hope that the advancement of TFM will also be inclusively and positively discussed at this Expert Group Meeting.

10. Since sustainable transport is a crucial component to urban growth, the Group of 77 and China views that this meeting is very timely in the preparation process leading up to the upcoming Habitat III in October 2016.

11. Finally, we wish for the success of this meeting. We look forward to an in-depth outcome of discussions at expert level for the forthcoming 2 days. We affirm that the Group stands ready to constructively engage in the discussion with the strong determination to move towards the realization of safe, affordable and efficient transportation, increasing fuel and energy efficiency, and reducing pollution, congestion and adverse health effects, as well as achieving the related SDGs.

I thank you.