Our climate is heating up at great speed. China is experiencing the longest sustained heatwave and drought in its history. Catastrophic flooding has left more than 1,300 people dead and a third of Pakistan under water. Half of Europe is in drought. Meanwhile, Putin is using the supply of gas to Europe as a weapon…
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What is to be done?
We must start by facing the truth. Government policy will not deliver net zero. Nor will everything in our current arsenal of policies and measures. Achieving net zero carbon is a major national and global challenge, and one that cannot be met by any sector acting alone. Global greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by…
Read moreIf not now, then when?
The IPCC have warned that it’s “now or never” if world is to stave off climate disaster. We already look set to overshoot the 1.5C target. In carefully calibrated messaging, the IPCC’s latest report highlights the enormous scale of the challenge but that we have the tools and the knowhow required. Lifestyle changes offer significant…
Read moreWe must make the case for a better life
The latest IPCC report has been described as ‘an atlas of human suffering’. Climate impacts are worse than predicted. Extreme weather events are accelerating. No region is safe. Any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a livable future. The report’s publication last week would have…
Read moreA cleaner, fairer, safer future
Climate change is no longer a distant threat. As we experience extreme weather events of increasing ferocity and frequency, we can hear its impacts knocking ever more loudly and insistently on our door. Have we heard the wake-up call? COP26 was a partial success in that it kept the goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius alive. …
Read moreA Manifesto for Decarbonising Transport
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…
Read moreNever waste a crisis, so the saying goes.
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…
Read moreCutting carbon from commuting
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…
Read moreLocal leaders – what they need to deliver transport decarbonisation
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…
Read moreCan people travel sustainably?
“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…
Read moreThe long term will be decided by current policy and projects
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.…
Read moreThe right climate for innovation: Decarbonising transport
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…
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