The Government’s efforts to reduce vehicle emissions by encouraging greater uptake of electric cars will largely be negated by its £27bn road building programme, according to a new report.
Environmental consultancy Transport for Quality of Life says that in the next 12 years, 80 per cent of the CO2 savings from electric cars will be wiped out by the impact of new roads and the traffic they generate.
The BBC reports that its findings are based on data collected by Highways England.
About a third of the increased emissions from road building between now and 2032 will come from construction (land clearance and embodied carbon in materials); a third from higher speeds; and a third from increases in traffic.
A government spokesperson responded: “This assessment is wholly incorrect and doesn’t take into account the benefits from the massive surge in electric vehicles.
"The Road Investment Strategy is consistent with our ambition to improve air quality and decarbonise transport."
Cars could be slower than bikes on England's urban A roads within a decade
The report accepts that in the long run CO2 emissions from cars will go down as a result of the switch to electric vehicles. However, it says that as the majority of cars will still not be electric by 2030, the process will be too slow to avoid climate catastrophe.
“If we are to meet the legally-binding carbon budgets, we need to make big cuts in carbon emissions over the next decade," said lead author, Lynn Sloman, who is a consultant for the Department for Transport.
"That will require faster adoption of electric cars – but it will also require us to reduce vehicle mileage by existing cars. Unfortunately, the Government’s £27bn road programme will make things worse, not better.”
Self-driving cars? No, walking and cycling “must remain the best options for short urban journeys” says DfT
Studies have repeatedly shown that new road schemes create more traffic as they also tend to give rise to car-dependent housing, retail and business parks.
“More roads just mean more cars,” said Sloman. “Decades of road investment have not solved congestion.
“Sustained lobbying for more money for roads, leaving less for public transport, cycling and walking, is one of the reasons we now face a climate emergency. We can’t afford any more to indulge this Toad of Toad Hall model of mindless road-building.”
She added: "This is an institutional problem. There are people in the Department for Transport and Highways England who have built their careers on big road building budgets, and they won't easily give them up.
“But there are also some officials – and perhaps some politicians – who are starting to recognise that the climate emergency means we need a radically different approach to transport."
Ian Speed, defending, told the court: “The injuries were totally not intended, and could have been partly caused by the speed he was travelling at....
I set up a Tacx Flux a couple of years ago with a Shimano 105 cassette (so maybe no help for you sorry) on the multi-hub you mentioned, and the...
Still another 5 and a half weeks for me to wait for my new Ribble Endurance Ti (but just 105 for me).
Hi Alex, I saw your previous hour record from track centre and it looked very very controlled, well until you were let loose. Shoud you plan...
It's the fence that was painted black. Just asking for it, really.
This man is not going to live to old age! These agents are so powerful and act so near to the basis of life that taking them is like completely...
I have just returned from a trip to the Lakes. There were several bad close-passes, but no very bad ones. There were several uses of HH mobile,...
3 points is too light considering the potential danger of the manoeuvre...
Um - the Giro starts on May 8th, so they could have started. It even says that right there in the tweet you've embedded.
At the £10k level if someone is still buying off the shelf plastic frames (nothing against carbon bikes) they are really missing out on going fully...