Greener Vision TKH Page 9

Getting on track for the decarbonisation of UK rail

Published on: 19th October 2020 by Phil Bulman.

In April this year, the Department for Transport published a policy paper, setting out its intentions for decarbonising UK transport. However, with Government’s much-needed rail electrification programme recently put on hold due to a lack of funding, is it serious about achieving net zero transport emissions by 2050? And what needs to be done to reach…

Imagine: A Transport System Based Around People

Published on: 15th October 2020 by Jamie Driscoll.

Imagine public transport so good that you’d rather not use your car. Imagine a system that was designed to move people rather than vehicles. Imagine a system that allows people to get wherever they want, whenever they want, without having to adapt their work & leisure to suit the availability or cost of transport. In…

The Journey to Zero Carbon

Published on: 13th October 2020 by Joan Walley.

This month the Leopard pub in my hometown of Burslem closed its doors and was put up for sale by the brewery. Calling last orders on a much loved local hostelry in a town that drove the industrial revolution with its ceramic manufacturers, its coal and its clay is seen locally as much as a…

Decarbonising access through supply-led demand

Published on: 8th October 2020 by Glenn Lyons.

Climate emergency declarations are like a rash. There was a pre-COVID sense of urgency developing, energised by the movement led by Greta Thunberg. According to a 2019 survey, 79% of EU citizens saw climate change as a very serious problem (up from 74% in 2017). The transport sector is the tough nut to crack if…

We must act now, even if it is already too late

Published on: 6th October 2020 by Rt Hon Norman Baker.

Sometimes it is hard not to be fatalistic. Climate change is gathering pace, a trend that can only increase as the poles melt and the frozen permafrost of the tundra releases its massive store of methane. Our oceans are full of plastic, including microplastics in vast quantities that are killing aquatic life and entering the…

The importance of active travel to economic and environmental recovery

Published on: 1st October 2020 by Hannah Bartram.

Earlier this year, the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT) published its policy position on active travel and a further policy position on e-scooters. Hannah Bartram, Chief Operating Officer for ADEPT talks about the importance of active travel and argues that it is key to economic and environmental recovery. Active travel…

In search of a silver bullet

Published on: 29th September 2020 by Claire Haigh.

What does the UK need to do to demonstrate the kind of leadership the world needs? The pandemic may have distracted attention from the climate crisis, but the imperative of tackling that overwhelming threat has far from diminished. Through its presidency of COP 26 its hosting of the G7 next year, the UK is uniquely…

Transport planners: we need to get our act together on decarbonisation

Published on: 24th September 2020 by Stephen Bennett.

Transport planners, we have failed. In the past decade, there has been little to no progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from surface transport in the UK. Due to reductions in emissions from other sectors, it is now the highest-emitting sector in our economy. Okay, that may be a bit harsh. Transport planners have actually…

Decarbonisation – Must Deliver on User Priorities to be Successful

Published on: 17th September 2020 by Robert Samson.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a profound impact on our health and wellbeing, on business, the economy and transport, climate change has taken a bit of a back seat. It’s easy to forget that the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 26) was originally to take place less than two…

Decarbonisation – an act of reciprocity

Published on: 15th September 2020 by Frazer Henderson.

Without the distractions that tend to make life hectic the recent lockdown has provided an opportunity for reflection and contemplation and a chance to gain a deeper, perhaps more insightful, perspective of the issues that confront us all. I used the occasion to spend some of the enforced confinement in expanding the range of my…

Best Friends Forever: shared transport and decarbonisation

Published on: 10th September 2020 by Richard Dilks.

It is super-welcome to see decarbonisation rise up the political agenda. Better late than never. Yet it is of course neither a new topic nor the first time it has come to prominence in the UK. The solutions that enable us to cut greenhouse gas emissions are mostly not new either. What would be new…

2050 is far too late. We must decarbonise our roads over the next ten years. It can be done.

Published on: 8th September 2020 by Dr Ashok Sinha.

Would you decide the fate of today’s young and future generations on the toss of coin? No, nor would I. But that’s exactly what we are doing when it comes to climate change. The UK’s recently declared target of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 is undoubtedly a step up in ambition; yet, as the…