Posted Aug 23, 2021 by Juan Bordera, Fernando Valladares, Antonio Turiel, Ferran Puig Vilar, Fernando Prieto, Tim Hewlett
The second draft of the IPCC Group III report, focused on mitigation strategies, states that we must move away from the current capitalist model to avoid surpassing planetary boundaries and climate and ecological catastrophe). It also confirms our previous reports, covered by CTXT and The Guardian, that “greenhouse gas emissions must peak in the next four years”. The new leak acknowledges that there is little or no room for further economic growth.

A Camden Council committee yesterday evening voted through plans for a protected cycle lane on a road that Conservative councillors had claimed was “too steep” for many cyclists, including children.
Tory councillors in the Labour-controlled borough had called in the scheme, but the council’s culture and environment committee voted it through by a majority of five to one, with the news welcomed by London’s walking and cycling commissioner, Will Norman.

While Paris’s winding Seine has been an inspiration for some of the greatest works of romantic art and literature, the unloved Senne running through Brussels has been buried away under concrete for the last 150 years, condemned by locals as little more than a sewer and cause of disease and unhappiness.
As a constant flood risk and source of cholera, it was vaulted in, built over and hidden from sight. Now, however, Belgium’s capital is preparing to stage an inauguration ceremony that officials hope will help force a rethink among Bruxellois about their centuries-held prejudices against the waterway.
After the removal of 1,966 tonnes of concrete, a 200-metre stretch of the Senne near the Buda suburb in north Brussels will be formally opened to the elements, with new banks constructed in part from the rubble of its former tomb.

A Dutch cycling policy adviser has proposed London mirrors Amsterdam in adopting a young “bicycle mayor” to help improve safety.
Officials in Holland say young cycling campaigners should be encouraged to get involved with urban policy to improve safety, along with adding practical solutions such as removing traffic lights to promote respect between cyclists and pedestrians, more eye contact between road users and putting countdown screens at bike crossings.
It comes after the appointment of Amsterdam’s first Junior Bicycle Mayor, eight-year-old Lotta Crok, who was selected from a group of “bicycle heroes” who campaign in schools to improve cycling. The city’s safety measures also include bike classes for children after they first learn to ride aged four, and give-way road markings for cyclists.

Almost every London school is in an area where air pollution levels exceed World Health Organization limits, City Hall analysis suggests.
Figures show 98% of schools are in areas with toxic air quality, compared with 24% outside the capital.
Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah whose nine-year-old daughter died from pollution said “it was like lessons had not been learned”.
Across England 3.1m schoolchildren are affected.
Excessive levels of air pollution can stunt lung growth and worsen chronic diseases.
The analysis is based on figures from 2019, before the pandemic struck the UK.
City Hall said it shows the average concentration of particulate matter was a third higher at schools in London than in the rest of England.
Of the 30 local authorities with the highest particulate matter at schools, all but two were London boroughs.

A new social media campaign seeks to highlight to motorists that each cyclist is a person rather than a piece of street furniture.
It is raising awareness of the risks to those on bikes as more cars return to the roads after lockdown.
Joanne Ness, from Birmingham, launched the “More than a Cyclist” message after a fatal crash involving a friend.
An experienced cyclist herself, Ms Ness said his loss left her too frightened to enjoy the sport for months.
Last year, 140 cyclists died on Britain’s roads.
The latest government figures show there has been a 4% decrease in the number of cyclists killed in the past year, which the Department for Transport associates with a reduction of traffic during the pandemic.
“Cycling has always been a bit dangerous,” Ms Ness said. “In lockdown one, things were quiet, but ever since, the roads have got really bad.

A driver has been fined almost £400 and given nine points on his licence for a ‘careless’ close pass on a group of cyclists.
The impatient motorist was trying to get past the riders as they approached a traffic island.
One of the cyclists even had to swerve to avoid being hit as the driver sped by on the A4054 in Pontypridd, Wales. 
GoSafe, which aims to ensure safety on Welsh roads, said the manoeuvre ‘severely increased the risk to the safety of the cyclists involved’.
The motorist pleaded guilty to driving without due care at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court, where he received a fine of £386 and was given the maximum amount of points you can receive for that offence.

Lauren Wise
A driver who mowed down and killed a 15-year-old boy riding his bike has been jailed.
Leo Meek ‘took out’ Jack Jones while driving a Volkswagen Tiguan on Manor Drive at around 9.40pm on April 26 this year.
The 15-year-old from Moreton had been cycling the familiar route to his aunt’s house after spending the evening watching a film with his little brother.
Meek, 22, left Jack with fatal head and neck injuries while speeding at between 53 and 55mph on a 30mph residential road.
He then fled the scene, and didn’t even apply his brakes, ditching his friend’s dad’s car and getting a taxi home, where he went to bed.

Gary Nunn
One of the world’s most feted pieces of transport infrastructure currently lets down an increasingly popular mode of transport: the bicycle.
Currently, the 2,000 cyclists who cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge’s dedicated cycleway daily must dismount and battle 55 steps on the north side. The number of cyclists struggling on the stairs looks only set to grow: cycling in Sydney’s inner city has doubled in the last two years.