IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto has today warned government ministers at a UN conference that dramatic increases in road transport demand, unnecessary and misguided COVID restrictions, driver shortages and significant fuel price increases continue to cause havoc in global supply chains.
IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto has today warned government ministers at a UN conference that dramatic increases in road transport demand, unnecessary and misguided COVID restrictions, driver shortages and significant fuel price increases continue to cause havoc in global supply chains.
The 4th Ministerial Conference on Transport, hosted by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) and held virtually and in Bangkok, looked at issues including transport resilience in light of the pandemic, as well as sustainability, efficiency and safety in the region.
Umberto de Pretto outlined a six-point plan to governments to urgently scale up sustainable road transport initiatives and facilitate regional road transport, including:
- Accelerating the use and implementation of the UN TIR and CMR Conventions, as well as their related IT tools
- Stopping misguided COVID restrictions, especially politically motivated border controls and driving restrictions
- Restoring freedom of movement for essential road transport workers and providing priority vaccinations
- Addressing chronic driver shortages by lowering the minimum age for professional drivers to 18
- Levelling out soaring fuel prices by freezing or adjusting fuel taxes and charges and releasing national fuel reserves of diesel where relevant
- Working with the road transport industry to achieve ambitious decarbonisation targets and activities, as outlined in IRU’s Green Compact