Inland waterway transport and the 2030 agenda: Taxonomy of sustainability issues

Inland Waterway Transport (IWT) is recognized as energy efficient, with lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions and large freight capacity when compared to other modes. Therefore, IWT helps to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in 2030 Agenda (SDGs) that relate to sustainable transport. Still, transport sustainability assessments must include environmental, social and economic issues. This paper reviews recent research aiming to provide a conceptual definition of sustainable inland waterway transport that relates to the SDGs, and to identify gaps in literature for future research. To accomplish this task, a cluster analysis-based taxonomy was built through the intuitive approach, with peer-reviewed papers published between 2015 and 2020. The sample was classified into twelve clusters of IWT sustainability issues, which were related to SDGs and their targets. Results show increased scientific interest in eco-friendly practices. However, social issues remain underappreciated. We present a definition for sustainable IWT and the pathways for future research to achieve higher sustainability levels, as prescribed by the 2030 Agenda.