Green Freight at the UNSG Climate Summit next week

At the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Summit in New York City September 23, countries, cities, non-state organizations and private-sector entities will commit to scale up actions to mitigate short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs): methane, tropospheric ozone, black carbon and many hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

Reducing SLCPs can provide significant benefits for air quality, climate, health, crops and ecosystems, which in turn provides benefits for sustainable development. Reducing methane and black carbon emissions could help slow global warming by up to 0.5˚C between 2010 and 2050, avoid over 2.5 million annual premature deaths from outdoor air pollution, and prevent around 50 million tons in annual crop losses globally by 2050.

The Summit will feature four joint statements with action plans on oil and gas, HFC alternatives, municipal solid waste, and green freight.

These announcements build on the work of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC), a unique voluntary framework with more than 90 active partners. It is the first high-level effort to treat SLCPs as a global and collective challenge.

Supporters from within and outside the Coalition partnership have confirmed their support, and invite others to indicate theirs for any of the joint statements, and to take part in the follow-up actions. The Coalition will ensure follow-up to the announcements for the SLCP action area.

Global Green Freight Action Plan Joint Statement

Here is the text of the joint statement on green freight. To see the text of all the joint statements, visit the CCAC website.

On the occasion of the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Summit, we, the supporters of this Joint Statement, announce our commitment to participate in the development and implementation of a Global Green Freight Action Plan, to be launched by December 2014.

Companies are always looking for ways to save fuel and reduce cost. Lack of knowledge and global standards often prevents them from implementing smart technologies and other measures. National green freight programs are a critical piece of the puzzle to make freight smarter. This initiative is an important step towards a more efficient and environmentally sustainable global freight sector.

—Sophie Punte
Executive Director
Smart Freight Centre

The transportation sector contributes roughly 22 percent of global CO2 emissions and about 19 percent of emissions of black carbon: a powerful climate forcer with significant adverse health impacts. Heavy-duty vehicles such as those used for freight transportation have a marked impact on climate and air quality, and vehicle activity is projected to grow significantly in the coming decades, particularly in emerging economies. Emissions of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which includes black carbon and other particles from heavy duty vehicles, contributes to elevated ambient concentrations of PM2.5 responsible for millions of premature deaths each4 year and many more instances of cardiovascular and respiratory disease. Green freight programs can accelerate the adoption of advanced technologies and strategies that save fuel, reduce costs for business, and lead to significant reductions of CO2, black carbon, particulate matter and other air pollutant emissions across the entire transport sector.

Therefore, through the Global Green Freight Action Plan, we pledge to raise the awareness and to work towards (1) aligning and enhancing existing green freight efforts through knowledge sharing, peer-to-peer partnerships, and government-industry exchanges that will build a bridge between policy makers, business leaders and civil society at the global level; (2) identifying ways to incorporate black carbon, particulate matter and other air pollutant emission reduction calculations in green freight programs; and, (3) expanding or improving green freight programs in interested countries.