Fifth High-level Meeting on Transport, Health and Environment
"Vienna Austria capital travel", by Hetham, Adobe Stoke
17–18 May 2021 (virtual)
The Fifth High-level Meeting on Transport, Health and Environment (5HLM) will bring together ministers and high-level officials from the governments of 56 Member States of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the WHO European region, and representatives of international, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, academia, the business community and other key stakeholders in the fields of transport, health and environment.
The meeting is hosted by the Government of Austria and takes place under the auspices of WHO/Europe and UNECE through the Transport, Health and Environment Pan-European Programme (THE PEP).
Transport, Health and Environment Pan-European Programme
THE PEP, a joint programme of UNECE and WHO/Europe, provides a unique intersectoral policy platform that seeks to encourage transport policy-makers and urban planners to consider the health and environmental impacts of transport and address these through shared policy approaches.
THE PEP and the COVID-19 pandemic
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on transport and mobility has been dramatic regardless of the level of affluence of countries. THE PEP has considered these impacts from the beginning of the pandemic and supported Member States to promote healthy, safe and sustainable transport options in the changed context.
The 5HLM will discuss the effect of the crisis on urban mobility and transport systems, and the immediate and long-term actions that governments at different levels and across sectors need to take at the nexus between housing, urban planning, and transport and mobility, in working towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, protecting health and the planet, and reducing health inequalities.
Adoption of the Vienna Declaration
Member States are expected to adopt the Vienna Declaration, with its ambitious vision of transitioning to clean, safe, healthy and inclusive mobility and transport systems for all. It is also expected that the first Pan-European Master Plan for Cycling Promotion, will be adopted. The overall target of the Master Plan is to significantly increase cycling in every country and to double cycling in the pan-European region as a whole by 2030.
The meeting documents will be available on the 5HLM webpage (see below).
