A decade-long global effort for sustainable transport has started and Australia has a lot to gain by joining in

The United Nations has officially launched the UN Decade for Sustainable Transport, a ten-year global initiative to accelerate the shift toward cleaner, safer and more accessible transport systems. 

Transport is one of the fastest-growing sources of emissions worldwide. 

Changing the way people and goods move is essential for meeting global climate goals, improving public health, and helping communities thrive.

This global push comes as the Australian Government’s climate modelling shows that transport is set to become the nation’s largest source of emissions. 

The national Transport Sector Plan and Victoria’s Transport Sector Emissions Reduction Pledge include increasing access to sustainable transport options such as public transport, walking and cycling as a key pillar for success under the Avoid, Shift, Improve framework:

• avoid unnecessary travel
• shift to more sustainable modes of transport
• improve efficiency of vehicles, trains and trams, including through electrification. 

Making sustainable transport modes convenient for Australians to use is a central principle in the nation’s decarbonisation strategy.

To help build momentum, Climateworks Centre and the Public Transport Association Australia New Zealand (PTAANZ) have come together to spark a conversation about how Australia can deliver more sustainable transport options during this decade of action. 

For instance, public transport, walking and cycling can provide zero emission transport options for many Australians. 

Climateworks’ Transport Lead Helen Rowe said, Climateworks and PTAANZ will identify the next steps needed to close the implementation gap on achieving the higher rates of public and active transport needed to meet Australia’s climate commitments. 

‘By boosting sustainable transport over the coming decade Australia has the chance to achieve a win-win – reduce transport emissions while improving cities and towns, making them more liveable, healthy and less congested’, Helen Rowe said.

Why is creating more opportunities to use sustainable transport so important?

A credible pathway to decarbonising Australia’s transport system includes making it easier and more attractive for people to use public and active transport.

Climateworks’ 2024 transport sector modelling shows relying on electric vehicles (EV) alone is not enough for Australia to reach its climate goals. 

More people travelling by train, tram, bus, bike and foot give Australia its best chance of success while improving health and liveability outcomes.

More work is needed to give people access to these options, however, with only half of the residents of Australia’s five biggest cities having access to frequent public transport, with access particularly limited in newer, outer suburban areas.

In the short term, sustainable transport provides options to cut tailpipe emissions from driving. 

In the long-term, making sustainable transport a preferred choice for more trips can make our transport system more efficient, moving more people without generating gridlock. 

With most Australians living in or near cities and towns, this approach:

• ensures efficient, low-emissions ways to move a growing population to the places they need to go 
• reduces the emissions and costs associated with building many more roads 
• reduces the pressure for high rates of car ownership and the associated emissions and materials needed to make additional cars.

Creating sustainable transport options is central to a just transition. 

Ensuring everyone – regardless of income, age, location or ability – can access low emission, dependable transport directly supports key Sustainable Development Goals relating to climate action, sustainable cities and reducing inequality. 

Public transport, safe cycling and walking networks are critical for those who don’t drive and provide low-cost choices where the cost of an EV is currently out of reach.

Well-designed public and active transport networks also ease congestion, support productivity, and create healthier, more liveable communities. 

Walking and cycling infrastructure encourages physical activity, reduces pollution and noise, and helps make urban areas safer and more vibrant. 

More efficient use of public space and roads frees up room for housing, green space and community facilities.

What are the first steps for Australia in the Decade of Sustainable Transport?

Across Australia’s states and territories, there is encouraging momentum. 

Governments are trialling new approaches to pricing, and major expansions of public transport networks are underway, including in Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. 

But investments in public transport need to outstrip Australia’s population growth to ensure more people have access to sustainable transport choices. 

Now that the Commonwealth has released its Transport Sector Plan, it is up to the federal, state and territory governments to work together to make the plan a reality and ensure the Avoid-Shift-Improve principles are implemented. 

Collaboration will be crucial, including policy coordination and joint investment, and putting emissions reduction at the centre of policy, planning and funding decisions.

This ensures policy and investment decisions align more strongly with boosting sustainable transport choices and reducing emissions. 

It includes accounting for the emissions created through building and using transport infrastructure and having funding priorities and guidelines that reflect the Transport Sector Plan’s principles of Avoid–Shift–Improve. 

Pricing reforms, such as road-user charging, can also provide a powerful lever to reduce emissions and support sustainable modes if designed well. 

Similar approaches have been implemented across London, Singapore and Stockholm, which have reduced both emissions and congestion, and show what Australia can aspire to.

To be successful, the nation needs consistent, transparent data on how people move around – and how these patterns change over time. 

Boosting data collection, analysis and use is one of the key focus areas of the UN’s Implementation Plan for sustainable transport.

PTAANZ Chief Executive Lauren Streifer said PTAANZ is already contributing to this effort through a national mode-share data dashboard designed to help governments and industry track progress and target action. 

‘To meet Australia’s climate goals, shifting more trips to public and active transport and designing people-focused cities and regional centres are not optional – they are among the most powerful levers we have to cut emissions and create healthier, more liveable communities,’ Lauren Streifer said.

‘PTAANZ’s Mode Shift Index will provide a clear, evidence-based guide for targeted investment and policy action’.

A decade of action can reshape Australia’s transport future

By embracing the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport and taking deliberate steps each year, the country could see profound benefits by 2035:

• Expanded public transport networks offering zero emission travel options.
• Safer, more connected walking and cycling routes.
• Healthier and more active communities. 
• Less congested and more productive cities. 
• Transport emissions that are firmly on a downward path.

This decade presents an opportunity for Australia to align its climate goals with broader economic, social and environmental benefits. 

With sustained effort, collaboration and smart decision-making, Australia can build a transport system that works better for everyone, today and for generations to come.

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