North West Green MEP launches sustainable transport report

25 January 2020

Today, as her final UK event as a MEP, Gina Dowding - Green MEP for the North West, along with transport experts, have launched a report in Lancaster, to discover what sustainable transport systems could look like in different communities across the North West, where the power lies for making decisions about roads, buses, trains and cycleways within the region, and how transport fits into the wider Green New Deal.

The Sustainable and Active Transport Report: Putting the Green New Deal Into Action is authored by independent consultants Alistair Kirkbride and Lisa Hopkinson, follows up on the Green New Deal in the North West report that we published in October last year and goes into more detail about the challenges and mechanisms for transforming our public transport system in the region.

The climate emergency requires radical intervention in our transport network. Transport is the only sector which has not yet seen a reduction in carbon emissions in the UK, and it has now overtaken energy as our biggest emitter.

But what does a sustainable transport system look like, how do we get there, and what does it mean at the local level?

This report is the first detailed regional application of policy and intervention ideas set out by the think tank Transport for Quality of Life, which launched a suite of national recommendations for the UK alongside Friends of the Earth in 2019. The report considers:

• The necessary interventions that are needed to cut carbon emissions from North West transport in terms of demand management, active travel, public transport and transport integration
• The quick wins and immediate priorities that can be achieved with existing powers in local authorities and regional transport bodies
• The legislative and regulatory changes needed at a national level to unlock other necessary improvements
• The wider societal benefits of sustainable transport to equality, health, wellbeing and jobs
• Good examples of what is already being done in the North West
• Why electric cars are only a small part of the equation - electrification of our transport system is not a panacea

Gina Dowding MEP said:

"I'm delighted to be able to launch a follow-up report to The Green New Deal in the North West report, with more details on an action plan for low-carbon sustainable transport. The idea behind it is to have a functional and workable plan to decarbonise transport in the North West, which means that the Green New Deal will be able to be put into action on transport, to significantly reduce carbon emissions.

"The transformation of our transport sector in the North West region is essential to meet the demands of the climate crisis. Our new report demonstrates that a sustainable and fairer travel network is both possible and achievable, with huge benefits across the board, such as high-quality jobs, reducing isolation in communities, and better health outcomes. 

"All local authorities, indeed all those responsible at a sub-national level for climate plans, transport, health and economic development, can and must ensure that investing in public transport - including walking and cycling, and getting people out of their cars - is at the heart of their future plans."

You can download the transport report here.

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