Global priorities to achieve theSustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda on road safety and sustainable mobility were presented at today’s Annual General Meeting of the FIA Foundation. The meeting also saw a change in Chairmanship at the FIA Foundation, with the Rt Hon Lord Robertson of Port Ellen replacing outgoing Chairman Tim Keown. Following unanimous election by the Foundation membership and after praising his predecessor’s guidance over the past four years, Lord Robertson delivered a powerful call to action, saying: “The mission to make the world a safer place on its roads keeps me involved and keeps me motivated. I look forward to following Tim Keown in the job that he has done and working with Jean Todt  in his new responsibilities as the UN’s Special Envoy on Road Safety, as well as all of the Trustees. What we do, and what we’re involved in, is a noble mission to save lives.” It has been a year of significant progress, with the Foundation coordinating a sustained advocacy effort to secure the inclusion of road safety and vehicle fuel economy in the UN’s SDGs, also known as the ‘Global Goals’. Key partners, including the FIA and its member clubs, which are also the Foundation’s membership, have played an active role in supporting and advancing this advocacy effort. As a result, governments at the United Nations have agreed a target to halve road traffic fatalities by 2020 in the global Health Goal and have also included road safety in the UN’s Cities Goal.

The Foundation also outlined the global priorities to help achieve the SDG targets that will form its focus over the coming years. Priority areas include action to support legislation achieving 100% seat belt and helmet wearing by 2020, a minimum three-star safety standard on 10% of the world’s highest risk roads by 2020 and the requirement that all cars meet seven UN minimum safety standards by 2020. It will also seek to secure safe routes to school for all children by 2030, safe and sustainable urban transport and a focus on fundraising. Vehicle fuel economy is included in the global Energy Goal, which seeks to double the rate of energy efficiency by 2030. This includes the Global Fuel Economy Initiative’s (GFEI) target of a 50% improvement in fuel economy of all new cars globally by 2030. The GFEI, coordinated by the FIA Foundation, is currently playing a major role at the Paris COP21 climate summit. This includes the launch of the GFEI’s State of the World Fuel Economy report and an 8 million euro commitment to support vehicle fuel economy work globally.