TRAFFIC GROWTH WIPES OUT CLIMATE CHANGE GAINS - END ROAD BUILDING

"Stop tinkering and cut traffic growth now" says anti-roads alliance

The Climate Change Programme Review [1], published today by the Department for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) shows that predicted traffic growth would wipe out other gains made in reducing carbon emissions. Currently transport is responsible for 27% of UK CO2 emissions, with road transport accounting for 95% of those emissions.

Road Block, the national alliance against roadbuilding argues that the government, rather than taking responsibility and attempting to reverse traffic growth, is instead building up a roads programme of 200 approved schemes, which will cater for this predicted growth. Road Block argues that relying on technological fixes (biofuels, engine efficiency etc) to cut transport emissions tinkering with the problem, as these small gains would be wiped out by traffic growth.

The CCPR says "road transport CO2 emissions grew by 8 per cent between 1990 and 2000 even though average new car fuel efficiency has improved by 10 per cent since 1997. And this is why forecasts indicate that road transport emissions will grow by another 8 per cent between 2000 and 2010, although the link between traffic growth and economic growth has weakened in recent years" [2].

Road Block coordinator, Rebecca Lush, said:

"The government is creating the very problems it claims it wants to solve. Whilst the government wrings its hands about soaring transport emissions, meanwhile they are proposing building more road that will create this extra traffic growth. The hypocrisy is breathtaking. The government cannot wash its hands of its responsibilities. If it is serious about tackling climate change, it must end its road building programme now. Economic growth does not rely on building roads, as the report acknowledges, and there is no argument in the twenty first century for roadbuilding, especially if we are serious about the urgency of tackling climate change.

The evidence shows that the most effective measure for cutting traffic growth and CO2 emissions is to increase the tax on fuel and invest in better public transport, certainly not roadbuilding to encourage more traffic growth".

Notes to Editors:

[1] The Defra Climate Change Programme Review can be found here:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/uk/ukccp/review04/index.htm

[2] Transport is covered at page 61 of the CCPR at Section 2b here
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/uk/ukccp/pdf/ukccp06-pt3.pdf

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