As early as 1958, the oil industry was hiring scientists and engineers to research the role that burning fossil fuels plays in global warming. The goal at the time was to help the major oil conglomerates understand how changes in the Earth’s atmosphere may affect the industry – and their bottom line. But what top executives gained was an early preview of the climate crisis, decades before the issue reached public consciousness.What those scientists discovered – and what the oil companies did with that information – is at the heart of two dozen lawsuits attempting to hold the fossil fuel industry responsible for their role in climate change. Many of those cases hinge on the industry’s own internal documents that show how, 40 years ago, researchers predicted the rising global temperatures with stunning accuracy. But looking back, many of those same scientists say they were hardly whistleblowers out to take down big oil.

Deniz Huseyin 29 June 2021
The UK has one of the worst records in Europe for reducing road deaths, according to a report by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). Road deaths in the UK fell by 14% in 2020 compared with 2010, making it the second worst country for progress after the Netherlands, which saw a 5% decrease over the 10-year period.  
The report reveals that 18,844 people lost their lives in road traffic in the EU in 2020, 10,847 fewer than in 2010, representing a 37% decrease.

Mark Sutton21 June, 2021

Deputy minister for climate change announces move as part of plans to reach net zero emissions by 2050

Back in May 2021, the Active Travel Academy (ATA) at the University of Westminster said it was ‘delighted’ to finally launch the UK’s first media reporting guidelines for road collisions during UN Global Road Safety Week 2021. However, most media still reports collisions with ‘cars’ and not ‘drivers’

For the third year running, the Scorecard Coalition compares London boroughs on the action they’ve taken to promote active and sustainable travel in line with the Mayor’s Transport Strategy targets. Which boroughs are taking action? Which boroughs need to do more?

Andi Adams 29 June 2021
Now here’s a startling fact: two people can travel along the same street at the same time but experience the journey in very different ways. One person’s 800m sprint is another person’s hurdles depending on age, gender, race, religion, belief, mobility (including ‘hidden’ disabilities), sexuality and more.
After the kidnapping and murder of Sarah Everard, thousands of women told their stories about how they walk with their keys gripped between their fingers, ready to become a makeshift defensive weapon. They told how they try not to travel alone at night or cross the road to avoid sharing the pavement with a stranger. Trans women, queer women and women of colour, women who wear garments such as the hijab or the burka may experience additional threat or sense of threat due to the compounding of intersectional characteristics. Existing in public as your authentic self can be dangerous. It can also be expensive. 
A study from New York showed that women on average spend between $26 (£18) and $100 (£72) a month more than men on transport, attributed to a need to feel safe (i.e taking a cab instead of the subway). 

Lucy Marstrand-Taussig 29 June 2021
Describing children as ‘vulnerable road users’ shifts the focus to the potential victim – we need to recognise that vulnerability is largely created by the physical environment, attitudes and laws, writes Lucy Marstrand-Taussig
Children are often described as ‘vulnerable road users’ which shifts the focus onto the potential victim rather than the external facts such as insufficient priority crossings
Figure 1: Temporary Strategic Cycling Analysis for Streetspace Plan 2020. Spider diagram routes are focussed on trips into and out of the city centre. Source: Appendix Four Analysis for the Temporary Strategic Cycling Analysis v1, TfL