On 7 July 2026, the United Nations Centre for Regional Development - Department of Sustainable Development Goals / United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNCRD-DSDG/UN DESA), the Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLOCAT), the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), the World Resource Institute (WRI), the Climate Compatible Growth (CCG), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the UK FCDO Research on Infrastructure in Developing Economies (RIDE) Programme, the Transport Data Commons (TDC), and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), co-organized a High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) 2026 Side Event on "Ambition to Impact: Connecting the SDGs and the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport through Monitoring". The side event which focused on the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9 and SDG 11 aimed to share sustainable low carbon transport good practice across the SDGs, advance discussion on monitoring and implementation under the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport and engage UN country representatives to raise the profile of the Decade and related activities. The full programme is available here. The Side Event which was framed around the three SDGs under review this year (SDG 7, SDG 9, and SDG 11) brought together representatives from governments, international organizations, development partners, and experts to exchange experiences and good practices in advancing sustainable urban mobility as well as to discuss how we can truly monitor, track progress and showcase best practices for the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport.
As a key outcome, the participating Mayor of Seongnam City of Republic of Korea, Mr. Sang-Jin Shin, officially announced the hosting of the High-Level 17th Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forum in Asia from 16 to 19 March 2027. Mayor of Seongnam City, presented Seongnam City's approach to sustainable transport and future mobility. He also shared its experience in applying innovative technologies, including AI-based bus safety systems, autonomous shuttles, and drone applications for public services. The 17th Regional EST Forum in Asia is expected to convene approximately 300 participants from across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, including representatives of governments, international organizations, development banks, academia, and the private sector. The Forum will provide an opportunity to share policies, innovative practices, and partnerships that contribute to sustainable and resilient transport systems and the implementation of SDGs. The announcement is also posted at here.
UNCRD looks forward to working closely with Seongnam City and a range of development partners and collaborators in preparing for a successful 17th Forum and advancing regional cooperation on environmentally sustainable transport in the context of accelerating SDGs.
Related Documents: