Car emissions: government must act

Today a report from Friends of the Earth and the think-tank Transport for Quality of Life highlights that a rise in emissions from the roads could have a hugely detrimental effect on climate change and public health. Commenting, former Liberal Democrat Climate Change Secretary of State Ed Davey said:  “The Liberal Democrats welcome this report and agree more radical thinking needs to be done in the transport sector to tackle climate change. "While real progress has been made in the power sector, with renewables now replacing by dirty fossil fuels, thanks in part to Liberal Democrat policies, the Conservatives must now cut emissions elsewhere.   “Transport is one of the biggest contributors of emissions so we desperately need a more ambitious plan to slash emissions.   “Liberal Democrats want a new Green Transport Act with a new programme of measures to significantly reduce emissions from road transport." Jenny Randerson, Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson said:   “The Conservatives are presiding over a shameful decline in public transport at a time when we need to cut emissions, not only to combat climate change, but to tackle the public health disaster in our towns and cities.   “Since 2015 the DfT’s own figures show a decline of nearly 200 million bus journeys. This Tory Government claim they are committed to public transport, but instead they are driving it into a wall. It is clear that for the Conservatives the car remains king.   “Liberal Democrats would aim to improve bus services, encouraging people to move out of cars and into public transport. We would create a nationwide bus plan, creating a model shift towards public transport use, we would enable councils to choose how they run their own services and we would introduce a discount card for Young People.”