We need a radical shift for decarbonising transport. Urgent focus must be given to behaviour change.
Emissions from road transport – 95% of the UK’s transport total – have hardly changed since 1990. Improvements to the efficiency of new vehicles have been largely offset by the trend to larger vehicles and rising demand. According to the Climate Change Committee the annual reduction in surface transport emissions needs to quadruple in this decade [iv].
However, decades of car-centric planning mean that delivering any traffic reduction will require system wide changes. The Pathways to Net Zero thought leadership programme concluded that we need a whole systems approach to net zero with energy demand reduction at its core. We must price properly for carbon whilst ensuring a fair and just transition, and we must strengthen delivery across the UK [v].
Public buy-in for climate policies is essential. We need an informed national public conversation.
Progress depends on enabling people to act together. Political expediency won’t get us to net zero. The reasons for climate policies are as important as the policies themselves and need to be communicated clearly and consistently [vi]. Otherwise, politicians will struggle to gain the mandate they need to take difficult decisions. Lack of public trust in climate policies can lead to a backlash [vii].
It is important to get the tone of the discussion right. We must avoid polarization and ideological thinking. Decarbonisation will require a shift away from a car-based culture. But too often the debate is centred on cars being ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and becomes alienating. Linking the narrative on net zero to the public health emergency of air pollution resonates better with the public.
We need to think and act in a global context for the long term.
The cumulative impact of decisions made for short-term self-interest is putting huge strain on our ecological system and leading to irreversible changes [viii]. We must put an end to economic short-termism and prioritize growth according to its contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals rather than linear GDP. These 17 interconnected goals aspire to sustainably increase global prosperity, equality and well-being [ix].
A fair and just transition must be at the heart of change. The onus should be on wealthier countries to decarbonise more quickly than poorer ones. Pricing properly for carbon is a fundamental building block, but a fair and just transition means addressing the inequalities this can create. The overall impact of a carbon tax doesn’t have to be regressive as its revenue can be returned to households in ways that promote progressivity [x].
To achieve real and lasting change we need to start with ourselves.
People need to be appealed to as citizens not just as consumers. People will willingly shoulder a burden – even one that requires short term sacrifice against uncertain long-term threats – provided they share a common purpose and are rewarded with a greater sense of social belonging [xi]. However, they require proof that others are contributing before they themselves will act [xii].
The central proposition of Greener Vision: Pathways to Net Zero is that policy as usual will not achieve net zero. We must start with ourselves. Our social and economic structures are a product of our way of thinking. Systemic change is a deeply personal endeavour. “Our future is unwritten. It will be shaped by who we choose to be now” [Christiana Figueres & Tom Rivett-Carnac [xiii]].
We need new thinking, creative solutions and systemic change. Climate policy should be informed by five key Pillars of Unity.
