VIENNA WILL
HOST FIRST GET-TOGETHER OF TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT
MINISTERS
6 November 1997
Transport and
road transport in particular have grown spectacularly in
recent years. This development is partly due to people’s
increasing mobility and the growth in both national and
international trade.
The reverse
side of this development is that environmental nuisances,
too, have increased. The banning of traffic in certain cities
of UN/ECE because of excessive levels of pollution has become
a regular occurrence over the past several years. In the
longer term, pollutants emitted from transport cause diseases
such as cardiovascular or pulmonary disorders or cancers.
To take stock
of the situation, but above all to make concrete proposals
for the future, the United Nations Economic Commission for
Europe (UN/ECE), in collaboration with the Austrian
Government, is holding the first Regional Conference on
Transport and the Environment, in Vienna from 12 to 14
November 1997. This Conference will bring together ministers
and high-level personalities from the environment and
transport sectors from most European countries, from the
Atlantic to the Urals, and from Central Asia.
The general
debate will focus on issues related to transport and the
environment in the UN/ECE region, for instance: defining
environmental goals for the transport sector and ways to
reach them; solving the environmental problems of the
transport sector in countries in transition; promoting less
polluting transport modes.
The problem of
urban traffic and the role of governments, local authorities
and NGOs, as well as the best approach to reducing
car-related emissions are also on the agenda.
The Conference
will adopt a Declaration and a Programme of Joint Action,
which will guide UN/ECE member States in their future
transport policies.
The Conference
will mark the final step of the work undertaken within UN/ECE
by groups of experts, who have drawn up new international
treaties and amended existing ones with a view to diminishing
in a substantial and concrete manner the impact of transport
on Europe’s environment.