May 2009: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has co-organized, with the Clean Air Institute and the support of the Rockefeller Foundation, a conference that sought to build consensus on the required policy response to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transport in the developing world.

The event, which was attended by climate change and transportation experts and convened from 12-16 May 2009, in Bellagio, Italy, concluded with the adoption of the Bellagio Declaration on Transportation and Climate Change. The Declaration recognizes that the transport sector, being the fastest growing sector in terms of GHG emissions, needs to increase its contribution to mitigation efforts, and it stresses that a new global climate agreement should be reached in December 2009 in Copenhagen to reflect this message. The Bellagio Declaration also calls on the international climate change and transport community to embrace three key principles: effective climate action is incomplete without addressing the overall system performance of the transport sector; climate action in the transport sector should recognize co-benefits; and more effective carbon finance mechanisms and associated procedures should catalyze sustainable transport policies, programmes and projects. [The Bellagio Declaration]