Tough decisions needed on climate

THE deliberations of the Devon Climate Assembly have recently been published. The members of the Assembly were independently recruited with the aim of representing the views of Devonians. The report is encouraging reading for those of us concerned about the impact of climate change.

Of particular interest to me are the views on transport. I am pleased to see that just short of 90% of the assembly wanted to see investment in walking, cycling and public transport infrastructure. I was also pleased to see that three quarters of the participants accepted the need to make car use less attractive “in principle” and that funds generated from charging schemes should be spent on improving public and

active transport. The report has a clear message that current provision for active and public transport is inadequate and so it is not surprising that there is less support for specific disincentives for private car use, such as increased parking charges. Given today’s experience, people find it easy to see the problems and hard to see the benefits of such changes.

Like many I am concerned for the future, so my personal message to our councils is clear: to achieve our net zero commitments, we need to urgently improve provision for public and active transport. Experience elsewhere shows that this leads to more widespread support for the difficult changes needed to avert the worst aspects of global warming.

Well done to the Climate Assembly for expressing their concerns with honesty and I am pleased that the direction is broadly positive. I hope that our councillors will rise to the challenge of making tough decisions based on a long term vision of a sustainable future.

Alice Lemaitre Exeter