Alliance against road building

PRESS RELEASE – 14th March 2005

Climate hypocrisy on transport –stop pandering to the motoring lobby

As G8 environment Ministers meet this week to discuss the climate crisis, Road Block called on the Chancellor to halt Government climate hypocrisy, and use the Budget to increase fuel excise duties, and channel the money away from road building and into measures that will reduce car use and emissions [1].

Despite transport being the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases, and the most critical area to tackle [2], Road Block claims the government is completely feeble on transport, preferring to risk climate chaos than upset the motorists’ lobby.

Also, reports last year calculated the Government loses £2 billion a year in lost fuel revenue, since they caved in to the fuel protests of 2000, and this could rise to £3.5 billion [3]. The Environmental Audit Committee last year also urged the Government to increase fuel duty to tackle climate change. Committee chairman Peter Ainsworth said the "key problem area is transport" [4].

Road Block claims that there is no ‘war on motorists’ as the Conservative Party and some media claim. In fact since Labour returned to power in 1997, motoring is six per cent cheaper while bus fares have risen almost 16 per cent and a rail ticket is seven per cent more expensive than in 1997, trends which only encourage more car use [5]. At the same time, since Labour have come to power, traffic levels have risen steadily, demonstrating the Government has given up on previous pledges to tackle traffic growth [6]. Road Block has formed as the Government has built up a huge road building programme [7].

Melanie Jarman of Road Block said:

“Increasing fuel duty is one way for the Government to show that it is serious about tackling climate change, as G8 environment Ministers meet to discuss the crisis. On climate change, Tony Blair is all words and no action. To really tackle the climate crisis the Government should stop encouraging more car usage, and destructive road building.”

Ends

Contact: Road Block on 01803 847649 or 07854 693067

Notes to Editors

[1] Road Block is an alliance of groups and individuals opposed to new road building. Road Block launched in January 2005 in response to the Government abandoning previous pledges to halt road building and invest in the cheaper and greener alternatives. Instead over 200 new road schemes are being planned. See www.roadblock.org.uk

[2] Transport accounts for over a quarter of emissions (RAC report 2003 and ‘Future of Transport’ White Paper 2004) and as the only sector where emissions are expected to be higher in 2020 than in 1990 (Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, June 2004), is the fastest-growing source of the greenhouse gases, as other sources fall.

[3] Research by transport academics, Dr Stephen Parker and Graham Parkhurst - http://www.psi.org.uk/ehb/projectspotter.html and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3716346.stm

[4] Environmental Audit Committee report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3554030.stm

[5] For figures on the costs of motoring see http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1426363,00.html

[6] Since 1997 traffic has risen on average by 2% every year. See http://www.dft.gov.uk/pns/displaypn.cgi?pn_id=2005_0011

[7] The Government, through Local Transport Plans, has given the go-ahead to 85 road schemes, and to over 90 schemes in its national trunk roads and motorways programme (TPI). There are also another 41 schemes waiting to be approved in the TPI, and many more schemes being ‘worked up’ by Local Authorities for inclusion in the next five year Local Transport Plan.