A damning annual report from the U.K. climate watchdog has slammed the government’s progress on reducing car use. A 438-page report released June 28 from the Climate Change Committee criticizes the government’s road-building plans, praises low-traffic neighborhoods and said cuts to the active travel budget should be reversed.
The committee’s report said government efforts on climate action were “worryingly slow” and that the U.K. would not reach its targets for cutting carbon emissions without action.
The Climate Change Committee is an independent non-departmental public body formed under the Climate Change Act to advise the U.K. and devolved governments and parliaments on tackling and preparing for climate change.
Committee chairman Lord Deben, a former Conservative environment minister, was critical of the government’s climate policies.
The government has “made no progress on our recommendations on clarifying the role for car demand reduction,” states the report.
The committee said “positive” moves by the government included work done by Active Travel England, the introduction of the temporary £2 bus fare cap, and the implementation of low-traffic neighborhoods (LTNs).
“Measures to limit growth in road traffic are crucial for decarbonizing transport and bring wider co-benefits such as improved air quality,” says the report.
The committee welcomed that motor traffic levels were 5% below pre-pandemic levels but warned that recent cuts to the active travel budget and rolling back of LTNs were not good for the planet.
“Studies have shown that rising fuel prices, increases in home-working and implementation of low-traffic neighborhoods have all contributed to [the] reduction in overall [traffic] demand,” says the report.
However, “without policy action to embed a reduction in the need to travel by car or grow the availability and attractiveness of alternative lower carbon modes, traffic is likely to increase.”
The committee advised more should be done on “place-based approaches that combine interventions that aim to reduce car use with those that make active travel more appealing, coupled with effective public engagement.”
The report praised plans for 15-minute neighborhoods and LTNs.
“A recent study found that LTNs in London have led to large reductions in traffic, and this does not appear to have been displaced onto boundary roads,” stated the climate watchdog.
“These schemes offer a wide range of co-benefits to local communities alongside emissions reductions,” continues the report.
“15-minute neighborhoods provide key facilities and services locally, saving residents the time and hassle of having to drive to access these. LTNs reduce traffic flows on residential streets, providing a more appealing setting in which for locals to walk and cycle and improving air quality.”
In March 2023, England’s active travel budget received a substantial cut, with the $891 million allocated at Spending Review 2021, minus the $294 million already allocated, being reduced to just $127 million over the remainder of the period. This was criticised by the committee, which said the government “must restore the previously agreed funding settlement.”
“Active Travel England’s initial funding allocations appear well thought through, and there are some promising signs of progress,” said the committee’s report.
“The Government should be looking to build upon these to allocate all local authorities long-term funding to develop and implement active travel plans. The substantial funding cuts will undermine its ability to do this.”
Further measures will also be required to reduce car use, says the watchdog’s report, including halting road building and increasing taxation on motoring. Saying that freezing duel duty was a “government subsidy for driving,” the report added that “choosing not to uprate duty in line with inflation is estimated to cost [$6 billion] in 2023/24, money which “could have been used to support more sustainable modes.”
The committee also said road-building plans should be reviewed. According to the watchdog’s report, the government should “conduct a systematic review of current and future road-building projects to assess their consistency with the government’s environmental goals. This should ensure that decisions do not lock in unsustainable levels of traffic growth.”
Any new road plans should only progress if they meaningfully support cost-effective delivery of Net Zero and climate adaptation,” says the watchdog.
Read the full article here
