60.9K VIEWS
Author, academic and campaigner Andrew Simms argues we need to rethink our relationship with the car – much as we have done for smoking.
Three pioneers who predicted climate change
Is it time to reassess our relationship with nature?
Watch more viewpoints in our IMHO playlist
167 views
Oct 11, 2021
What should transport look like in the next five years?
Adam Ramsay 8 October 2021
But while some drivers were shifting away from climate-changing commutes, others were going in the opposite direction. A record 42% of new cars sold last year were SUVs. Since 2010, the total number of gas guzzlers has gone from 50 million to 280 million. According to the same IEA report, this trend has wiped out any gains made by eco-aware consumers with their battery-powered engines.
These two trends probably aren’t entirely unrelated. If one group of people buys less petrol, then the price of fuel will fall. And so other people will buy more.
Roger Geffen, policy director at Cycling UK.
The UK government’s recent transport decarbonisation plan (TDP) has had a mixed reception. The consensus seems to be that it contains plenty of positive ideas but that it is very weak on a clear overall direction for the transport sector. Commentators have voiced frustration at its lack of a plan to reduce the demand for travel, so that the UK transport sector can play its part in averting the unfolding climate crisis.
This ambivalence is evident in the secretary of state’s foreword to the plan. At one point he says, “We must make public transport, cycling and walking the natural first choice for all who can take it”. Yet, elsewhere, he says, “It’s not about stopping people doing things: it’s about doing the same things differently … We will still drive on improved roads, but increasingly in zero emission cars.”
This mixed messaging does nothing to help councils, businesses and others know what kind of low carbon future to plan for.
Advertising is everywhere, so prevalent as to be invisible but with an effect no less insidious than air pollution
The trend towards digital billboards only exposes us ever more. Some big companies even boast about how “unmissable” digital screens are on busy roads, “captivating audiences” when drivers would be better off watching the road. Such roadside “out of home” advertising is set to grow by 25%, in 2021 and evolving advertising technologies that could use facial detection and tracking capabilities only heighten the sense of our privacy being invaded.
Joe Talora 3-4 minutes
Motorists in London should be charged based on how many miles they drive to tackle poor air quality and plug the gap in TfL’s finances, according to a leading thinktank.
The Centre for London has called on TfL and the Mayor of London to introduce the measure following the publication of new data from City Hall about the impact of poor air quality.
The City Hall analysis found that BAME Londoners and those in poorer areas were more likely to suffer the effects of poor air quality, with nitrogen dioxide levels up to 13% higher in the most deprived areas of the capital compared with the least deprived.
While clean air initiatives such as the ULEZ have seen that gap shrink by almost 50% since 2016, there are growing calls for more to be done to tackle to root causes of air pollution.
But Claire Harding, research director at Centre for London, has said that TfL and the mayor need to “go further”, adding that it is “simply unacceptable that tens of thousands of Londoners still breathe illegally polluted air”.
A quarter of our car journeys are under 2 miles.
When more people cycle, everybody wins.
Our new #BikeIsBest ad is now live.
:excerptstartExcuses include poor weather and running late. James FossdykeOne in three people regularly uses the car for short journeys that could be completed on foot or with public transport, according to a new study.Drivers beginning to consider electric carsA survey of 2,000 people by motoring website Carwow found that short trips are usually completed by car for convenience reasons,
Austrians will soon be able to travel huge train distances for next to nothing – and it’s all part of an effort to tackle the climate crisis
08.10.2021 06:00 AM
Just €3. That’s how much it’ll cost to travel the 692km from Bregenz to Vienna, or Salzburg to Kitzbuhel, or anywhere else in Austria on its trains or buses, including in cities. That’s thanks to the country’s new Klimaticket, or climate ticket, introduced to encourage people out of cars and onto public transport as part of carbon reduction efforts.
The pass isn’t daily but annual, so Austrians will have to shell out €1,095 in advance when Klimaticket is introduced later this month, though early takers will get a 15 per cent discount. “It makes commuting by train cheaper in most cases, especially for those with long distances, and is very easy to use,” says Ulla Rasmussen of Austrian mobility campaign group VCÖ. “Furthermore, we expect more people to choose public transport for their leisure activities and inland holidays since they then don’t have to buy additional tickets. Thus, the Klimaticket is not only cheaper, but also easy to use.”
1.8.2019
