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More road-building would be environmental madness
15 January 2008
Reaction to Policy Exchange report
Calls by a centre right think tank, Policy Exchange, for road-pricing to fund an expansion in Britain's road network are environmental madness, Friends of the Earth said today (Tuesday).
Friends of the Earth's Transport Campaigner Tony Bosworth said:
“Expanding Britain's road network would be environmental madness. UK carbon dioxide emissions have risen under Labour, despite promises of substantial cuts, and UK transport strategy is partly to blame. More road capacity will mean more traffic and more pollution. Road pricing could be part of the answer. But the revenue must be used to get people out of their cars and onto less polluting alternatives instead, not to build more roads.”
The science is now clear: the UK's carbon emissions need to fall by at least 80% by 2050 if we are to play our fair part in the fight against climate change. Unfortunately Britain's carbon dioxide emissions have risen since Labour came to power, and transport policy must take a large part of the blame.
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The cost of motoring has fallen in real terms by 10 per cent since Labour came to power in 1997, while the cost of public transport has risen: bus fares by 13 per cent and rail fares by six per cent [1].
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Since 1997 traffic levels have gone up by more than 12.4% [2].
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Between 1997 and 2005 carbon dioxide emissions from road transport rose by almost three per cent, and currently account for over a fifth of total UK emissions [3]. Emissions from road transport are forecast to rise by a further 18 per cent between 2005 and 2020, when they will represent over 26 per cent of total UK emissions.
Notes
1. The cost of motoring has fallen in real terms: [Parliamentary Question 17/7/07].
2. Traffic levels see Traffic in Great Britain: Quarter 3 2007
3. www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/globatmos/download/xls/gatb05.xls
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Aug 2008
