The pan-European region has been at the forefront in the development of sustainable mobility solutions focusing on health, environment and prosperity. The Transport, Health and Environment Pan-European Programme (THE PEP) brings the countries of the region together, unites three core sectors of the economy – transport, health and environment – and provides countries with the opportunity to share best practice and develop new policies. It therefore provides a platform for accelerating transformation in the transport sector and making this transformation irreversible. The recommendations, developed by a task force under THE PEP, will allow member States to lock in sustainable transport solutions for the future, given the changes to the sector brought on by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
At the meeting of the Bureau of the Steering Committee of THE PEP in April 2020, member States discussed the COVID-19 situation, its impact on transport, environment and health in their countries and the need to take action. Participants agreed to establish a THE PEP Task Force on “The Development of Green and Healthy Sustainable Transport Recommendations” to facilitate the transition to a new normal with sustainable and healthy transport solutions at the heart of decision-making and “building forward better”.
The objective of the Task Force was to make a synthesis of the “main lessons” learned from the COVID-19 crisis and to propose a set of recommendations in order to support countries in making the transition to green and healthy sustainable transport:1 a transition in line with the goals of THE PEP,2 the Vienna Declaration of the Fifth High-Level Meeting of the Ministers of Transport, Health and Environment, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement,3 to name the key processes and instruments.
The Task Force was composed of over 50 experts from national ministries, international organizations, city authorities, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academia and industry. The Task Force was chaired by the Chair of THE PEP Steering Committee, Mr. Robert Thaler (Austria).The first draft of the recommendations was discussed at the meeting of the Steering Committee of THE PEP in November 2020 and, following further consultations, was finalized in January 2021.4 The recommendations identified in chapter III below were then included in the Vienna Declaration to be signed at the Fifth High-level Meeting on Transport, Health and Environment in May 2021.