Extinction Rebellion today struck rush hour in Munich, bringing motorways to a standstill as they dangled from overpasses in protest against the International Motor Show (IAA). At least two autobahns were shut down as firefighters were called in to remove climate change protesters who were precariously hanging over the roads in harnesses.
Meanwhile, closer to the motorshow a group of Greenpeace activists waded into a pond and held up banners saying: ‘Stop driving climate change.’
Their protest comes as the world’s largest motor show got underway, with electric vehicles and the sustainable future of driving at the top of the agenda.
Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess, who was accosted by Greenpeace activists as he entered the venue on Sunday, is aiming to overtake Tesla as the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles by 2025.
School pledges that all children will be cycling by year six | road.cc
A head teacher has launched an initiative to encourage all her pupils to learn to ride a bike.
as part of Northumberland County Council’s Big Gear Change campaign which encourages residents to make small lifestyle changes to make a big impact on both health and the environment.
Mrs Palmer said: “A large proportion of our pupils live a considerable distance away from the school so we’ve introduced the concept of park and stride along with park and ride.
“Parents can drive their children to school but park far enough away to engage in exercise to kick start their mornings.
Cycling UK wins appeal to secure judicial review of removal of West Sussex bike lane | road.cc
Cycling UK has won an appeal against the decision of a High Court judge to refuse the charity permission to seek a judicial review of West Sussex County Council’s decision to remove a popular emergency cycle lane in Shoreham-by-Sea.
The pop-up infrastructure featured last year in a DfTvideo showcasing emergency active travel projects funded by the government and being implemented by councils across England in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Installed with the help of £781,000 in funding from the DfT’s Emergency Active Travel Fund, work on the segregated lanes on Upper Shoreham Road began in September last year and saw levels of cycling treble, with the facility particularly popular during the afternoon school run.
Rain fell on Greenland’s ice sheet for the first time ever known. Alarms should ring | Kim Heacox | The Guardian
Kim Heacox
Many people believed he couldn’t do it. Ski across the Greenland ice sheet, a vast, unmapped, high-elevation plateau of ice and snow? Madness.
But Fridtjof Nansen, a young Norwegian, proved them wrong. In 1888, he and his small party went light and fast, unlike two large expeditions a few years before. And unlike the others, Nansen traveled from east to west, giving himself no option of retreat to a safe base. It would be forward or die trying. He did it in seven weeks, man-hauling his supplies and ascending to 8,900ft (2,700 metres) elevation, where summertime temperatures dropped to -45˚C.
That was then. This is now:
Last month, for the first time in recorded history, rain fell on the highest point of the Greenland ice sheet. It hardly made the news. But rain in a place historically defined by bitter cold portends a future that will alter coastlines around the world, and drown entire cities.
Scottish Government commitment to 20mph limits supports Active Travel and aligns with global best practice – 20’s Plenty for Us
With the Welsh government already committed to a national default 20mph limit for urban and village roads, the Scottish Government has announced that it plans[1] for 20mph to become the norm in built-up areas. This aligns with global best practice[2] that 20mph or 30km/h is the maximum permissible speed on roads used by pedestrians and cyclists unless a higher limit is evidentially safe. It is a key component of Scotland’s response to the Climate Emergency and helps to support Active Travel.
Climate change: UN warning over nations’ climate plans – BBC News
Despite all the promises to take action, the world is still on course to heat up to dangerous levels.
That’s the latest blunt assessment of the United Nations.
Its experts have studied the climate plans of more than 100 countries and concluded that we’re heading in the wrong direction.
Scientists recently confirmed that to avoid the worst impacts of hotter conditions, global carbon emissions needed to be cut by 45% by 2030.
But this new analysis shows that those emissions are set to rise by 16% during this period.
That could eventually lead to a temperature rise of 2.7C (4.9F) above pre-industrial times – far above the limits set by the international community.
How can road violence against cyclists be stopped? DCS Andy Cox on episode 7 of the road.cc Podcast | road.cc
In this episode we talk to DCS Andy Cox, a prominent voice in the campaign against road crime, about reporting camera footage and reducing road injuries and deaths
After a shocking video sent to road.cc showing a club cyclist being assaulted went viral this week, we thought it was time to discuss the issue in more depth. This week the road.cc team talk about their experiences of dangerous driving and violence on the roads, while Jack talks to Andy Cox, Detective Chief Superintendent at Linconshire Police and the national lead for fatal collision reporting.
Keyhole Bridge – Help protect our residents and our green spaces
Latest: Sept. 4, 2021
Following a meeting with our legal team we have been able to agree a revised cost estimate of £12,500.
BCP Council ignored the views of residents and reopened Keyhole Bridge to traffic. We are challenging this decision in a Judicial Review.
In August 2020 Keyhole Bridge in Poole was closed to traffic under an experimental traffic order. The closure made the bridge safe for non-drivers and protected Poole Park from hundreds of cars an hour. It also reduced traffic passing Whitecliff and Baiter parks. Many people who had been unable to use the bridge were finally able to do so knowing they could do so in safety. It was a hugely popular move, and the majority of residents asked for it to remain closed. Yet in March 2021 the Council reopened the bridge.
Backlash as Stonehenge Tunnel and Lower Thames Crossing top construction pipeline | New Civil Engineer
Rob Horgan
The government has been accused of making a mockery of its own net zero carbon emissions targets by including billions of pounds worth of road contracts in its 10 year construction pipeline.
Transport campaigners have said that the government’s Build Back Better agenda is undermined by the prevalence of road schemes in the £650bn pipeline. In total, 12 road contracts worth £13.23bn are included in the pipeline.
The pipeline’s biggest four contracts by value also all relate to roads jobs. The two biggest contract opportunities are both worth £4bn. They are for the Lower Thames Crossing tunnels and approaches contract, and a National Highways “scheme delivery framework”.
The main works contract for the Stonehenge Tunnel (£2bn) and the Lower Thames Crossing Northern Link roads contract (£2bn) are also among the biggest contract opportunities included in the pipeline.
UN says global carbon emissions set to rise 16% by 2030 | New Scientist
Adam Vaughan
Environment 17 September 2021
A UN analysis today revealed a bleak upward trajectory for global carbon dioxide emissions, despite new CO2-curbing plans by scores of countries, including major emitters such as the US and the European Union’s 27 member states.
Global emissions will rise 16 per cent by 2030 on 2010 levels under governments’ plans put forward since the start of 2020, according to the synthesis report from UN Climate Change. That puts the world ruinously off track for the 45 per cent cut that climate scientists say is needed to meet the Paris Agreement’s goal of holding global warming to 1.5°C.
Membership
