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The 2024 ITF Summit on Greening Transport: Keeping Focus in Times of Crisis will take place from 22 to 24 May in Leipzig, Germany, under the Presidency of Lithuania, with Chile and Azerbaijan as first and second Vice Presidents, respectively.
The 2024 Summit will examine the transport sector’s role in environmental sustainability, and assess the impacts of climate, health and geopolitical crises in this context. With transport responsible for 30% of global CO2 emissions and climate change leading to extreme weather events, the urgency for carbon emission reduction is pivotal. The Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical conflicts have disrupted the transport sector and supply chains, contributing to an energy crisis and environmental challenges. Decision makers are urged to maintain a long-term policy focus amid these crises, leveraging opportunities like cleaner and automated vehicles and digital innovation to promote a greener and more resilient transport sector. Simultaneously, evaluating the environmental risks associated with increased digitalisation is increasingly crucial.
The Summit programme is carefully prepared in collaboration with the International Transport Forum’s 66 member countries, with input from a wide range of stakeholders.
Each year, the Consultation Day with International Organisations provides an opportunity for an open dialogue around the main themes of the Summit and the priority topics for the ITF in general.
The annual Summit of the International Transport Forum is the world’s largest gathering of transport ministers and the premier global transport policy event.
Every May, ministers with responsibility for transport, business leaders, heads of international organisations, parliamentarians and policymakers, representatives of business associations and leading researchers meet for three days in Leipzig, Germany, to discuss the future of transport through the prism of a strategic topic.
Summit participation has grown to over 1200 participants from more than 80 countries, well beyond the 66 member countries of the ITF. It increasingly attracts business participants, with CEOs joining high-level discussions and companies presenting their work in the Summit exhibition or sponsoring the event. The annual meeting of the ITF Corporate Partnership Board is held as part of the Summit.
Summit themes are carefully prepared by the ITF Secretariat with guidance from member countries and in consultation with stakeholders. ITF’s research unit supports the Summit with topical analyses and a pre-summit Research Day is organised with leading institutions to provide cutting-edge academic input to the Summit debate. Side events hosted by ITF partner organisations take place in and around the Summit thereby allowing greater opportunities for presentations of recent work and dialogue on key issues complementing the Summit theme.
Ministers have in the past adopted a Ministerial Declaration relating to the Summit theme, as well as presenting the ITF Young Transport Research of the Year Award.
The International Transport Forum at the OECD is an intergovernmental organisation with 66 member countries. It acts as a think tank for transport policy and organises the Annual Summit of Transport Ministers. ITF is the only global body that covers all transport modes.
The ITF works for transport policies that improve people’s lives. Our mission is to foster a deeper understanding of the role of transport in economic growth, environmental sustainability and social inclusion and to raise the public profile of transport policy.
The ITF organises global dialogue for better transport. We act as a platform for discussion and pre-negotiation of policy issues across all transport modes. We analyse trends, share knowledge and promote exchange among transport decision-makers and civil society.