Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog belong to the authors and are not necessarily representative of DecarboN8, or any other organisation, employer or company.
Better, Fairer, Cleaner – The Transport Decarbonisation Plan v2.0
by Greg Marsden This is the imaginary foreword to a Transport Decarbonisation Plan which addresses how we really get to zero emissions in a hurry. It is written in the style of a White Paper foreword. Where possible it builds on existing commitments in the July TDP There is a climate emergency Transport is the … Read more
Real zero in a hurry: a UK transport policy maker’s guide to climate action
by Greg Marsden and Richard Walker This post originally appeared on Policy Leeds Previously in this blog series for COP26, Paul Chatterton laid down the challenge for urban policy makers to “act like it’s an emergency” in their response to the IPCC’s call for “immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions”. Here Richard Walker … Read more
Feeling the climate emergency: what Covid has taught us about facing up to necessity
by Richard Walker This post originally appeared on Policy Leeds “It’s a chilling moment” — Richard Walker, on secondment from the Department for Transport to the University of Leeds, speaks of his personal realisation of the scale and speed of change needed to keep to our Paris climate commitments. Here he reflects on what we … Read more
Life course and changing travel patterns
by Greg Marsden Drive Less? Who? Me? As local and national transport authorities work through the task of what decarbonising transport in line with the UK’s commitments really means we come to one inescapable truth. It means travelling less by car. Transport Scotland has written it down as a 20% reduction in kilometres travelled by … Read more
Decarbonisation Island Discs: a playlist critique of the Transport Decarbonisation Plan
by Greg Marsden I was really pleased to see the Transport Decarbonisation Plan released on Wednesday 14th July. In 2008 the UK government set out an 80% commitment to CO2 reduction with no plan for transport. The result – no change in emissions. There are of course shortcomings and key questions which are unresolved (how … Read more
Six ways for Government to make a serious shift to net-zero transport
By Jillian Anable and Greg Marsden This post originally appeared on CREDS This week the Department for Transport (DfT) is expected to publish its long-awaited Transport Decarbonisation Plan. It will detail the steps needed to bring the UK transport sector in line with climate change legislation. The absence of such a plan has contributed to transport … Read more
DecarboN8 funds five new research projects
Five fantastic new research projects have been awarded funding via our recent EPSRC DecarboN8 Network Plus seedcorn funding call and sandpit. Applicants worked with partners from different sectors to co-design research projects which responded directly to real-world transport decarbonisation challenges in the North of England, building in local knowledge and resources. We received a large … Read more
Election 2021: How local authorities can decarbonise transport and support a green recovery
Elections took place across the UK on Thursday 6th May. The policies supported by those elected will be key in determining whether the UK delivers on its climate commitments. This is especially true when it comes to transport, as local authorities have considerable influence in shaping the transport options in their communities. Last year we … Read more
Work from home if you can: the carbon impact of reduced commuter journeys in different places in the UK
by Kadambari Lokesh Commuter journeys make up 15% of all journeys in the UK, the second-highest, next to shopping. DecarboN8’s ‘COVID-19 and travel patterns’ research team has published findings on how the Covid-19 travel restrictions effected commuting and carbon emissions in 2020. The study asks: What impact did the COVID-19 “work from home if you … Read more
New video: Will electric cars stop the climate emergency?
To celebrate Earth Day we are launching a short video which asks, ‘Will electric cars stop the climate emergency?’ DecarboN8 researchers recently posted a series of responses to the UK’s ban on the sale of new diesel and petrol cars from 2030, our new video summarises these points in just over 2 minutes and is … Read more