Remarks by the President of the General Assembly,
Mr. Dennis Francis,
At the World Bicycle Day Event, North Lawn Area, UNHQ
3 June 2024
[As Delivered]
Ms. Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications,
Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,
A very happy World Bicycle Day to you all.
I thank Her Excellency, Aksoltan Ataeva, Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan – together with colleagues, Permanent Representatives of the Bahrain, India, Indonesia, Latvia, Türkiye and Qatar – for the kind invitation to join this unique event.
It is also not an everyday occurrence that we are in the company of Dr. Leszek Sibilski, the former member of Poland’s National Olympic Cycling Team, who – with characteristic determination – brought World Bicycle Day from a bold idea into a global observance movement in 2018.
Indeed, the bicycle has been and still remains an indispensable mode of transport – with a two-century track record of:
– fostering sustainability,
– strengthening access to education, health care and daily work – particularly for those who lack financial resources to own a motor vehicle or take public transport, including women and girls,
– promoting health and well-being, as well as
– supporting a culture of peace, mutual-understanding, solidarity and inclusion in societies across the world.
The bicycle also has proven to be a highly effective way to reduce carbon emissions – and thus contributing to the achievement of sustainable development.
Choosing two wheels over four can, indeed, reduce our carbon footprints by up to 2 tons per -year – compared to a lifestyle using a car.
This is all good news for developing the “culture of cycling” – as called for in General Assembly resolution 72/272.
Dear Colleagues,
At the same time, we cannot expect to free wheel our way to a more sustainable future – pun intended.
We must be strategic about developing multimodal and interconnected transport systems – that include those for non-motorized transport, such as cycling.
During the first-ever General Assembly Sustainability Week, which I convened in April, we heard multiple calls to this effect at the high-level meeting on sustainable transport – underscoring the importance of integrating the bicycle as an essential part of transport mode shifting.
We also saw more than 50 Member States participate in our #ChooseSustainability campaign, with delegates and the public alike undertaking nearly 290,000 actions to support sustainable lifestyles – including by choosing a bicycle as a means of transport.
In truth, there are countless ways the bicycle can create an entire ecosystem of sustainable mobility – connecting communities to practical solutions they need to surmount the myriad and daily inequities of poverty, conflict, disaster and emergency.
On this World Bicycle Day, let us take full advantage of the power of the pedal.
Let us encourage all actors to cultivate a culture of cycling – and in turn, unleash progress across the Sustainable Development Goals to bring about a healthier, safer, greener and more inclusive future for all.
I thank you.
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