COP26 Summit, Glasgow
COP26 Summit, Glasgow
With the COP26 summit happening in Glasgow this week, Modelling Group have pulled together our thoughts on what needs to be done within the transport planning & modelling sector to try and reduce emissions and help to combat the worst effects of climate change.
It is acknowledged that significant changes are needed across the world and throughout many industries to keep the global average warming limited to the goal set in the Paris Climate Accords in 2015 of 1.5°C, but if action isn’t taken and things continue to “carry on as usual”, there will be severe consequences for the world, in both the relative short-term and for generations to come.
To stop this becoming the reality, we see the following as important suggestions with regards to transport planning and modelling, to help with the fight against climate change.
Transport Planning & Modelling Aims
Keep momentum on active travel
The Covid-19 pandemic caused the implementation of a range of measures to encourage people to walk and/or cycle as a means of getting around (particularly during the ’lockdown’ periods). These measures, including examples such as low traffic neighbourhoods, properly segregated cycle lanes and pedestrian footway improvements, need to continue to be encouraged via funding and policy commitments by national governments and implementation at a local authority level, in order to attempt to dissuade people from jumping back into their cars for local, short distance trips.
Private developers clearly also have a role to play, with new developments needing to be responsibly designed in a way that helps to shift the focus away from single occupant, personal car use towards other means of travel (for example, car clubs, electric vehicle hubs, increased cycle facilities, improved walkability to nearby services). With the accelerated rise of home-working as a result of the pandemic, new houses also need to be designed with consideration towards the possible inclusion of appropriate home-working facilities.
Campaign to encourage people to reembrace the use of public transport
Whilst the pandemic has helped create an upsurge in active travel, it has had the complete opposite effect on public transport usage, with the use of buses and trains still significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels.
A nationwide advertising campaign to encourage people back onto public transport could be considered, along with national government funding to allow local authorities to improve bus services and reallocate road-space away from cars.
There also needs to be a focus on engagement and encouragement to service providers to make buses and trains a more desirable mode of travel. At a national level, there is a need to consider significant policy changes in order to make public transport an affordable and viable alternative to driving a car – an example would be to move subsidy spending for internal travel away from air travel, to rail travel, as this has a much lower carbon footprint than short-haul flights.
Further implementation of clean air zones in towns & cities
As a further means to encourage people to use more sustainable means of travel, the use of more formal clean air zones in town and cities should be considered. However, this does need to be accompanied by a much more considered strategy to include for the needs of all members of the public affected by such measures, as well as a smarter and more user-friendly implementation.
Whilst controversial, if towns and cities can complement clean air zones with improved public transport measures and a suitable strategy for dealing with deliveries and loading/unloading, then this should all help reduce single occupant car use within densely populated areas.
Issues to overcome
Whilst it would of course be great for all of these aims to implemented as fully as is possible, there are inevitable challenges to overcome to ensure a successful transition away from private car use to more sustainable means of travel. Some of these issues are detailed below.
The need to sort out ‘the first mile’
Clearly, not everyone has a bus stop outside their door is within easy walking distance of a train station or can reasonably cycle to work for a variety of reasons. As such, many people will still have a valid need to use their car for some element of their journey. Whilst these issues could be over-come for people who live in new developments (if the developers have made provisions for more sustainable means of travel), it is much more problematic for older developments or existing residential areas and people living in remote areas.
The use of parking hubs outside of towns and cities is one possible way to overcome this, providing a place for people to park their cars and then use public transport or active travel modes to complete their journey.
Changing peoples’ perceptions
There will always be people not in favour of public transport for a variety of reasons, including not being easily accessible, being too expensive, not being perceived as a pleasant experience and more recently, concerns over Covid-19 transmission.
Whilst improvements can clearly be made to public transport to address some of these issues, it may not be enough, and some people will still want to use cars.
Introducing policies to ensure a consistent nationwide approach
In order for increased use in active travel and sustainable travel modes to be realised, there needs to be a joined-up, nationwide (and worldwide) approach to ensure that all authorities, transport providers, developers and vehicle manufacturers are “singing to the same hymn sheet”. This is a huge task, but it needs to be led from the very top of society, with national governments fully committing not just to talk, but to fully implementation sweeping reforms and policies that set-out the aims and objectives to provide a society that relies less on private vehicles and more on active modes and sustainable travel.
Concluding Comments
It is acknowledged that there is a lot here to action and that it all requires collaboration on a number of different levels and between a variety of authorities, service providers and companies to be achieved.
However, if we really are serious about climate change and reducing emissions, then we immediately need to start taking much more drastic actions and making more unified, concerted efforts as a civilisation, before it is too late. Setting (and then reneging) goals for 25 years in the future is just nowhere near enough – we need clear action and significant change to be happening now, and to then continue to happen over the subsequent years of this decade.