Transport is now the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK and emissions are rising. This briefing outlines far-reaching changes to deliver the reductions needed and ensure a decent transport system that works for everyone.
Lynn Sloman and Lisa Hopkinson, Transport for Quality of Life
26 Oct 2019
This paper – written by Transport for Quality of Life and endorsed by Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace – argues that we have to think afresh about the right transport policies to meet the climate emergency. Technical measures are necessary but not enough to achieve the large and rapid reduction in carbon emissions that are needed. Climate scientists are warning that we also have to make substantial changes to our travel behaviour – driving less and flying less. Because we have left it so late, steady incremental changes in our travel patterns will not be enough.
Most transport policy experts are unaware of the degree of urgency that climate scientists are trying to communicate. There is an almost complete policy disconnect between our two worlds. But it is transport policy experts who must now develop the strategies that can deliver transport carbon reductions for a safe planet. This overview paper, and the eight preceding detailed papers, are an attempt to outline the practical immediate actions that must form part of that strategy.
The eight in-depth papers written by Transport for Quality of Life for Friends of the Earth, on which this paper is based, are available in PDF here and on-line versions are at the bottom of this article. Full references are provided in the in-depth papers. A PDF of this final paper is available here .
The scale of the challenge
Transport is now the UK’s biggest contributor to climate change. Whereas in 1990 it accounted for less than a fifth (19%) of UK greenhouse gas emissions, it now accounts for more than a third (34%), and transport carbon emissions are flat-lining or even rising. Government departments responsible for every other sector of the economy have cut carbon, but the Department for Transport (DfT) has gone rogue, pursuing policies that actively make things worse while being unambitious about the policies that could make things better.
A policy prescription for slow, steady carbon reduction that might have been sufficient 25 years ago is no longer fit for purpose. Because we have left it so late to tackle carbon emissions from transport, we now have to take urgent action. Climate scientists are warning that the carbon targets set by the Committee on Climate Change are too lax and that we need to reach net zero emissions much sooner12. But there is an almost total policy disconnect between the advice of these climate scientists and the thinking of the transport policy community, which is working on the relatively comfortable assumption – because it seems so distant – that we have until 2050 to get transport carbon emissions down to zero.
The current DfT carbon strategy is focused on electrifying the vehicle fleet, while still allowing traffic volumes to grow, building roads and expanding airport capacity. But if only 50% of new car sales are electric by 2030 (which is the government’s current aim), car mileage will have to be cut by as much as 60% in order for emissions reductions to stay on track . And even if allnew car sales are electric by 2030, it will still be necessary for car mileage to be at least 20% lower in 2030 than now (and possibly more than this), in order for our emissions to stay within a fair carbon budget.
The carbon arithmetic is inescapable. It means that we must instigate a rapid transformation of our transport system to reduce car use, as well as achieving a faster transition from petrol and diesel to electric cars and significantly cutting aviation emissions.
Rapid action to reduce car use will only be fair and command public consent if it takes place in parallel with big changes to our transport system that give people decent, clean and affordable ways of travelling to work, education and services, by foot, bike or low-carbon public transport. So in order to be able to meet our obligation to act on climate change, we need to recognise a basic right for everyone to be able to live decently without having to own or drive a car. A transport system for a zero-carbon future must therefore be: