While highlighting the sector’s essential role in economic and social development, Agenda 21—one of the Summit’s main outcomes—also emphasized transport’s contribution to atmospheric emissions and the need for “more effective design and management of traffic and transport systems” (paragraph 9.13).
The need for reliable and sustainable transportation has been on the international agenda for the past fifty years. The 1972 Stockholm Plan of Action highlighted the need for alternatives to meet rapidly increasing urban transportation demands, including mass transport systems and services. However, it was not until the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro that world leaders acknowledged the role of transport in sustainable development. While highlighting the sector’s essential role in economic and social development, Agenda 21—one of the Summit’s main outcomes—also emphasized transport’s contribution to atmospheric emissions and the need for “more effective design and management of traffic and transport systems” (paragraph 9.13).