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NEW: activists have deflated the [tyres] of around 60 4X4s in a Glasgow’s west end in protest at the cars high levels of emissions. according to the International Energy Agency SUVS were the 2nd largest contributor to the increase in global carbon emissions after power 2010-2018
Electric Cars Won’t Save The Planet, Say Transport Experts At COP26 – Forbes
Carlton Reid Nov 10, 2021 “It’s crazy cycling isn’t on the main agenda here at COP26,” mused Chris Boardman, Greater Manchester’s transport commissioner.Instead, today’s main agenda item on the COP26 Transport Day focussed primarily on electric vehicles. Cycling, walking, trains, and buses were all excluded from the high-level discussions.Twenty-four countries—and some of the world’s leading automotive companies—have… [Read More]
‘What if we just gave up cars?’: Cop26 leaders urged to dream big | Cop26 | The Guardian
A new agreement would phase out fossil fuel vehicles but activists want a focus on public transport, walking and cycling Oliver Milman Governments and car manufacturers have coalesced at the Glasgow climate talks around new targets to drastically ramp up the use of electric vehicles. But activists at the summit have urged a more fundamental question –… [Read More]
Utrecht restores historic canal made into motorway in 1970s | The Guardian
Daniel Boffey It is being viewed as the correction of a historic mistake. More than 40 years after parts of the canal that encircled Utrecht’s old town were concreted over to accommodate a 12-lane motorway, the Dutch city is celebrating the restoration of its 900-year-old moat.In an attempt to recast its residents’ relationship with the car, Utrecht’s… [Read More]
Opinion: Why did COP26 organisers fail to mention cycling for transport? – Cycle Industry News- Ben Knowles
Mark Sutton 10 November, 2021 The bicycle industry had many visitors to COP26, but in terms of stage presence and demonstrations of a vehicle that stands to offer significant emissions reductions the event is missing an open goal. Ben Knowles, Founder of PedalMe writes on a widely held view that big business is trampling on the agenda…Amazing, passionate people… [Read More]
Council docked government funding over ripped out bike lane – road.cc
Opposition councillors voted to remove the temporary cycle lane on Old Shoreham Road to the despair of local cyclists
Dan Alexander Sat, Nov 13, 2021
Brighton and Hove City Council has been docked 25 per cent of its Capability Fund finance due to the removal of a temporary cycle lane on Old Shoreham Road. Councillors voted to remove the cycle lane and said it required better planning to make it less “contentious” with other road users.
But it seems the decision has landed the city in hot water with the Department for Transport who requested more information on why the scheme had been scrapped.
It then emerged 25 % less than originally planned would be given to Brighton and Hove City Council as part of the Capability Fund.
The Fund is designed to support local transport authorities outside London by financing support staffing, resources and training to encourage active travel initiatives.
In a letter from the government it was made clear that future funding would be subject to proof of delivery, and advised the council to “realise their full potential” on active travel.
‘Like slave and master’: DRC miners toil for 30p an hour to fuel electric cars | The Guardian
Pete Pattisson
The names Tesla, Renault and Volvo mean nothing to Pierre*. He has never heard of an electric car. But as he heads out to work each morning in the bustling, dusty town of Fungurume, in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s southern mining belt, he is the first link in a supply chain that is fuelling the electric vehicle revolution and its promise of a decarbonised future.
Pierre is mining for cobalt, one of the world’s most sought-after minerals, and a key ingredient in the batteries that power most electric vehicles (EVs).
He says his basic wage is the equivalent of £2.60 ($3.50) a day, but if he works through lunch and puts in hours of overtime, he can make up to about £3.70. Not that lunch is worth waiting for: he claims he is given just two small bread rolls and a carton of juice.
“The salary is very, very small. It gives me a headache … The mine makes so much and we make so little,” he says.
If he takes a day off, he says money is deducted from his wages. If he is sick and misses more than two days in a month, more money is cut. “You can’t even argue. If you do, you’ll be fired,” he says, squatting on the dirt floor of the bare brick shack he rents.
It started with 5 families. Now hundreds are biking to school together in Barcelona | Iowa Public Radio
The Friday commute to school looks a little different for some kids in Barcelona, Spain. Starting at 8 a.m., more than a hundred kids and parents hop on their bikes and hit the road on their way to school and work. Not on the sidewalk or in a bike lane, but in the middle of the… [Read More]
The Modern Automobile Must Die | The New Republic
If we want to solve climate change, there’s no other option.
Germany was supposed to be a model for solving global warming. In 2007, the country’s government announced that it would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by the year 2020. This was the kind of bold, aggressive climate goal scientists said was needed in all developed countries. If Germany could do it, it would prove the target possible.
So far, Germany has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 27.7 percent—an astonishing achievement for a developed country with a highly developed manufacturing sector. But with a little over a year left to go, despite dedicating $580 billion toward a low-carbon energy system, the country “is likely to fall short of its goals for reducing harmful carbon-dioxide emissions,” Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday. And the reason for that may come down not to any elaborate solar industry plans, but something much simpler: cars.
Biden’s $2 Trillion Plan for More Cars, More Jobs, Less Pollution – Forbes Wheels
Jim Henry Updated: Nov 9, 2020
The incoming Biden Administration has a big, ambitious green agenda for the interlocking spheres of automobiles, transportation and energy that calls for at investment of at least $2 trillion. The large pool of funding would give consumers continued access to cash and provide the trifecta of industries more capital to push wider adoption of electric vehicles.
Likely included in the new administration’s plans is another round of extended unemployment benefits and/or stimulus payments direct to taxpayers. Job creation in the automotive or transportation sector also is at the top of the list alongside support for EVs and EV charging stations. The development of smart highways that improve safety and hasten autonomous driving, infrastructure improvement, increased mass transit and return to higher fuel economy standards also is likely on the table.
As a first priority, the U.S. auto industry will benefit from consumers receiving a new economic stimulus right away–possibly similar to the spring-summer $1,200 Economic Impact Payments. That’s at least the consensus of automakers and a handful of industry economists. This would help consumers pay their bills and create more disposable income that they could put back into the sector to keep the auto sales recovery rolling.