Sustainable transportation to aid development at Rio+20

(Caracas, June 18, 2012).- CAF –development bank of Latin America– participated in “Financing sustainable transportation to support sustainable development,” an event organized within the framework of the Rio+20 United Nations Conference in Rio de Janeiro.

CAF is considered an international reference point in the area, thanks to its infrastructure experience and knowledge of the region, and its consistent support to the transportation sector, especially urban mass transit.

The conference was organized by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), the International Union of Railways, WRI/EMBARQ, Bridging the Gap Partnership and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ, by its German acronym.) More than 70 specialists in the transportation sector attended the event, including representatives from Brazil, Namibia and Iraq’s finance ministries, as well as Indonesian Transportation Vice Minister Bambang Susantono.

The goal was to discuss what governments and financial agencies can do to improve transportation systems, which is a key to sustainable development.

According to Jorge Kogan, senior transportation advisor to CAF’s Infrastructure Vice President and a conference panelist, “the international community should consider sustainable transportation a fundamental feature in sustainable development’s global agenda.” He said the transportation sector directly adds 5 to 10 percent of GDP in most countries, whereas traffic jams in developing nations generate losses representing around 5 percent of GDP.

In order to support sustainability goals, the event opened a dialog on viable and efficient public policies that may contribute to investment in transportation.

“CAF, along with other multilateral development banks, in the next decade expects to provide more than US$150 billion in loans and subsidies for sustainable transportation in developing nations,” said Kogan. He also thanked the SLoCaT Partnership for its efforts in supporting development by integrating these banks in order to promote a joint proposal for financing sustainable transportation projects.

On CAF’s contributions in this field, Kogan said “the Institution is the main financing source for infrastructure in Latin America, and is still focusing its actions on the public’s wellbeing and respect for the environment, as it believes that accessibility, urban mobility, emissions reduction and road safety are the main challenges that need to be tackled.”