Greenhouse Gas Emissions

(asked on 9th June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have assessed their advice that people use their cars and avoid public transport during the COVID-19 pandemic to be (1) compatible with their target for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and (2), if not, whether they would withdraw the advice.


Answered by
Lord Callanan Portrait
Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This question was answered on 23rd June 2020

The Government’s top priority is to ensure we protect people and businesses throughout the present health crisis. The Government’s advice to avoid using public transport where possible, and instead try to walk, cycle, or drive is based on the present concern for public health.

Covid-19 has meant people have had to profoundly change the way they live, work and travel. Many people have rediscovered walking and cycling, and their benefits to both air quality and health. We are supporting that through the £225 million Emergency Active Travel Fund, which was announced on 9 May, and is the first stage of a £2 billion investment in active travel. We are also encouraging local authorities to consider rapid changes to road layouts such as pop up cycles lanes to make cycling safer and more attractive.

The COVID-19 crisis has not diminished the Government’s determination to meet our net zero target and we are committed to going further and faster to tackle climate change. Transport has a central role to play in decarbonising our economy whilst delivering growth. At the end of March, we published “Decarbonising Transport: Setting the Challenge” kicking off our work on preparing a Transport Decarbonisation Plan to ensure we meet the challenge of reaching net zero transport emissions by 2050.

Reticulating Splines