23 November 2023, London – Ahead of World Sustainable Transport Day, the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) joins with city and transport leaders to call for an escalation in action on public transport.
Issued ahead of COP28, the joint statement calls on the world’s governments to shift their focus to green investments and prioritise sustainable long-term funding and investment in public transport infrastructure and services as part of their just transition or risk climate breakdown.
The statement, The future is public transport: invest in public transport. Invest in our future, shows a collective ambition to work with governments to strengthen national climate plans (Nationally Determined Contributions – NDCs) in order to:
- Double public transport by 2030.
- Increase good, green, union jobs.
- Affirm commitments to investing, promoting, protecting and improving access to public transport systems.
The signatory organisations are a broad coalition – which includes C40 Cities and the International Association for Public Transport (UITP) – representing leaders of some of the largest cities, international climate initiatives, transport authorities and operators, supply-chain businesses, trade unions, non-governmental organisations and citizen groups.
“As the climate crisis escalates, we need real action to cut carbon emissions – and a shift to public transport is a key part of that. This pledge represents the bringing together of unions, cities, employers and communities with the common aim of holding governments and other key stakeholders to account to progress the just transition that they must now do. This is a landmark moment, where we are seeing workers and employers coming together to agree solutions” said Stephen Cotton, ITF General Secretary. “I see no reason this can’t be the model for making real change across other sectors as well.”
Media contacts: ITF: media@itf.org.uk
Note: The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP28), will be the 28th United Nations Climate Change conference, held from 30 November until 12 December 2023, at the Expo City, Dubai.
About the ITF: The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is a democratic, affiliate-led federation recognised as the world’s leading transport authority. We fight passionately to improve working lives; connecting trade unions from 147 countries to secure rights, equality and justice for their members. We are the voice for nearly 20 million working women and men in the transport industry across the world
