Insight

We are a group of leading professionals in the transport and planning sectors who together support the UK Government’s commitment to decarbonising our economy while sharing a deep concern that much greater urgency and action is needed to address the challenge society faces. Our focus is upon what we believe the Government must do if…

As I write the current fuel ‘crisis’ has seen forecourts up and down the country closed as supplies ran out in the wake of panic buying that saw long queues of drivers anxious to ensure that their tanks were full to the brim. Those queues were a stark visual reminder of the scale of our…

How does business and the workplace become carbon neutral by 2050? This is not a topic which is well covered. Last week, Addleshaw Goddard teamed up with Atkins to deliver a workshop on the responsibility and role of the workplace to cut carbon emissions. This was part of the online DecarboN8 conference which brought together…

The first page of the ‘place’ chapter in the Transport Decarbonisation Plan states “With strong local leadership and ambition these benefits [from greening transport] will be felt by everyone, everywhere. The government will continue to support such an approach through policy, regulation and guidance, and by encouraging strategic coordination and sharing of best practice across…

“I don’t think we’re very close to being sustainable when it comes to transport at all.  It’s all about convenience, if the world doesn’t change, then how is it feasible to walk everywhere….” This is the view of one transport user in a group we spoke to.  But it’s not an uncommon view. So how…

This was the third event in our series on Rising to the Challenge: What will it take to decarbonise transport? which took place on Monday 13 September. Delegates heard from: Hilary Chipping, Chief Executive, South East Midlands LEP Claire Haigh, Chief Executive, Greener Transport Solutions Jamie Driscoll, Mayor of North of Tyne Victoria Hills, Chief…

It’s over 100 years since the effect of burning fossil fuel on climate has been established, and for the last 30 years the UK and other Governments have been agreeing many policy statements about reducing transport’s contribution to CO2 production, and climate change. During that period the amount of CO2 emitted by transport has increased.…

Transport is not just about how we get around, it fundamentally shapes our towns, our villages, our countryside, our ability to connect with friends and family, our health, education and our overall quality of life. As well as defining the areas in which we live, transport is also the largest contributor to UK domestic greenhouse…

This was the second event in our series on Rising to the Challenge: What will it take to decarbonise transport? which took place on Thursday 9 September. Delegates heard from: Professor Stephen Glaister, Emeritus Professor of Transport and Infrastructure, Imperial College London and LSE Huw Merriman MP, Chair of the Transport Select Committee Claire Haigh,…

Few things astound me more than the fact that there are approximately 1.4bn cars in the world. That’s 1.4bn 1.5-ton machines made of metal, plastic, rubber, 99% of which are still fuelled by petrol or diesel. With approximately 5 seats per car there is enough capacity to carry around 7.5bn people. The global human population…

This was the first event in our series on Rising to the Challenge: What will it take to decarbonise transport? which took place on Monday 6 September. Delegates heard from: Professor Peter Jones OBE, Professor of Transport and Sustainable Development, UCL Claire Haigh, Chief Executive, Greener Transport Solutions The Rt Hon Lord Deben, Chair, Committee…

In the first of the Rising to the Challenge webinars I listened to my esteemed colleagues in the transport planning and policy professions discuss how best the nation might respond to the government’s Decarbonising Transport[1].  It was a good discussion but I could not help wondering if we are trapping ourselves into making it all…