Author name: Steven Edwards

Peter Walker and Niamh McIntyre
The number of cycling trips made by women in England rose by more than 50% in 2020, official statistics show, as the quieter roads of lockdown seemingly helped to tempt a demographic known to be more wary of traffic danger on to their bikes.
While for men there was a 12% overall rise in the average number of cycle “stages” – rides that formed part of a greater journey – made per person in 2020 compared with the year before, for women the increase was 56%, Department for Transport (DfT) statistics show.
Overall, men still cycled more on average over the year, as has long been the case. However, while in 2019 men cycled almost three times as many stages as women, in 2020 this fell to twice as many.

Josephine Moulds
Italy could be forced to pay millions of pounds in damages to a UK oil company after banning new drilling near its coast.
The case has sparked outrage at the secretive international tribunals at which fossil fuel companies can sue governments for passing laws to protect the environment – amid fears that such cases are slowing down action on the climate crisis. It is also fuelling concern that the UK is particularly exposed to the risk of oil firms suing to prevent green policies, potentially hampering climate action.
Rockhopper Exploration, based in Salisbury, Wiltshire, bought a licence to drill for oil off Italy’s Adriatic coast in 2014. There had already been a wave of opposition to the project, with protests that drew tens of thousands of people. Within two years, the campaign won over the Italian parliament, which imposed a ban on oil and gas projects within 12 nautical miles of the Italian coast.

Aubrey Allegretti

A fifth of London’s schools are now susceptible to flooding and millions of people living in the capital are at “high risk” of suffering from the effects of the climate crisis, according to analysis from City Hall, as Sadiq Khan warns time is running out to tackle the issue.
In a speech on Thursday, the London mayor is due to pile pressure on the UK government to ensure bold action is taken when it hosts world leaders for Cop26 in Glasgow in two months’ time, and add that without a significant commitment there will be “catastrophic” impacts on the environment and air quality.
The outcome of the UN conference will “determine whether we are going to avert the worst consequences of climate change, which could be devastating”, Khan is expected to say, alongside the launch of a public awareness campaign designed to encourage residents, communities and businesses in London to do their bit.

The idea of tolls for some drivers on two of Wales’ busiest stretches of road has been raised by Welsh government.

It asked for the public’s views in a survey about some motorists paying to use parts of the M4 motorway and A470 in a bid to tackle air pollution.
The survey asked for views on tolls for older cars on the M4 around Newport, Wales’ busiest stretch of motorway, and the A470 around Pontypridd.
But the survey said a “clean air zone” is not proposed “at this stage”.
An air pollution expert said any suggestion would be unlike any other air pollution measure in the UK, which normally charges motorists for driving into cities rather on stretches of road.
The Welsh government has declared a climate emergency and has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
The government survey asked drivers if their commuting or travelling habits would change if some vehicles had to pay to use those stretches of road.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking (APPGCW) has released its inquiry report into the Government’s upcoming 2nd Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS2).
The inquiry, exploring what CWIS2 should look like, took place in July and the list of witnesses can be found online. Three evidence sessions were held.
The report makes a number of detailed and wide-ranging recommendations – which are based on evidence received from a variety of stakeholders, provided both in virtual sessions and in writing. 

Fighting Traffic: The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City. This lecture, given by Peter Norton at the 2012 CNU Conference, provides a summary of Norton’s fascinating 2009 book about how automotive traffic came to dominate the American street.
Peter Norton teaches history of technology, social dimensions of engineering, research, and professional ethics in the Department of Engineering at the University of Virginia.

The WHO has cut its recommended limits for air pollution and urged nations to tackle dirty air and save millions of lives.
In the first update for 16 years, the guideline limit for the most damaging pollution – tiny particles from burning fossil fuels – has been halved. The new limit for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), mainly produced by diesel engines, is now 75% lower.
The stringent new limits reflect the large body of evidence produced in recent years of the deadly harm caused to people by much lower levels of pollution than previously thought. Air pollution kills at least 7 million people a year, the WHO said, while a recent study estimated 8.7 million early deaths a year from coal, oil and gas burning – 20% of all deaths.
Pollution cuts an average of two years from the lives of the global population, and up to six years in highly polluted nations such as India, making it a bigger killer than smoking, car crashes or HIV/Aids.