ITF at COP29
Transport in NDCs
Efforts to comprehensively include transport in NDCs featured strongly at COP29. The ITF, in collaboration with the ITF 2024/25 President country Chile, launched a Guide for the Inclusion of Transport in NDCs. The Guide sets out a framework for governments to ensure their NDCs are ambitious, implementable and investible.
Get the Guide
The new NDC Guide builds on the work of other organisations who have published NDC templates for rail, public transport, active mobility and popular transport earlier in the year. COP29 provided the opportunity to highlight these tools over several events to raise their profile with those responsible for drafting NDCs and transport policy makers. The Guide highlights best practices in the run-up to the deadline for the next NDC round (NDC 3.0) in February 2025.
ITF continues this crucial work at the ITF Summit in Leipzig, Germany in May 2025. The Summit includes a review of the extent to which transport is included in the new NDC submissions and explores options to support NDC implementation.
Learn more about the ITF 2025 Summit
Greening Urban Transport
The transport ministerial meeting, convened by the Azerbaijan Ministry for Digital Development and Transport and the ITF, focused on sustainable transport in cities. 14 ministers, government representatives, mayors, international organisations and industry representatives joined the debate.
Governments shared their plans and ambitions to enable a transformation of their urban transport systems and invest in infrastructure to decarbonise and deliver broader sustainable development goals. The event was part of a broader initiative on cities, with the launch of the Multisectoral Action Pathways to Resilient and Healthy Cities through which signatories committed to develop and implement a vision for low- and zero-emission integrated and connected transport systems.
Digital, Sustainable, and Resilient Supply Chains
ITF shared new insights on connectivity and sustainability at the Digital and Sustainable Middle Corridor and Beyond ministerial event organised by the Azerbaijan Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, UNESCAP and UNECE. ITF’s recent work as part of the Sustainable Infrastructure Programme in Asia (SIPA) showed how Central and Southeast Asia can align their transport infrastructure investments with the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Learn about the SIPA results
ITF also co-organised a dynamic transport Implementation Lab event to explore how to fund decarbonised, resilient, freight supply chains with UNESCAP LifeLinks, SLOCAT and a broad group of partners.
ITF report launches
Additionally, ITF launched two new reports. The first, Decarbonising Aviation: Exploring the Consequences highlights the multifaceted consequences of decarbonising aviation and was featured by the Secretary-General Young Tae Kim in discussions on sustainable tourism.
Get the report Decarbonising Aviation: Exploring the Consequences
The second report on GHG Emissions Accounting and Reporting for Transport was launched at an event along with the Smart Freight Centre. The new study provides a roadmap to improve transparency and consistency in emissions accounting and reporting, ultimately helping the industry to reduce its environmental impact and move towards sustainable practices.
Get the report GHG Emissions Accounting and Reporting for Transport
What’s next?
COP29 provided the opportunity to share findings from our upcoming report on Managing Competing Sectoral Demands for Renewable Energy. This unique study, launching in December 2024, assesses the constraints to the transport sector arising from the potential scarcity of renewable energy supply over the coming decades.
Learn more about Managing Competing Sectoral Demands for Renewable Energy
In 2026, the UN Decade for Sustainable Transport begins. ITF has worked closely with UN DESA on supporting stakeholders for the development of an implementation plan for the decade, aligning it with the new ITF Sustainable Transport Systems Initiative. The Initiative positions transport decarbonisation as an enabler of broader sustainable development goals.
Find out more about the Sustainable Transport Systems Initiative and get involved
The ITF looks forward to continuing to work with Azerbaijan through their COP Presidency year and when they take up the role of ITF Presidency country in May 2025 to continue to drive ambition on transforming our transport systems.