Electric cars ‘not enough for UK to go fully green’
THE shift to electric vehicles is not enough to decarbonise travel, a think-tank warns.
Walking, cycling and public transport must play bigger parts in a greener post-pandemic Britain, says the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).
Luke Murphy, head of the IPPR’s environmental justice commission, said: “Little progress has been made in cutting transport emissions over the past three decades.The Government’s current preferred strategy places an overwhelming focus on the shift to electric vehicles. Such an approach will not deliver for people or planet.
“We need to massively expand the provision of, and affordability of, clean public transport options, such as trains, buses and trams. [And also] help more people to regularly walk and cycle, alongside a shift to electric vehicles for those that need them.” The IPPR report says that without additional measures, current approaches to reaching net zero could lead to an 11 per cent rise in car traffic by 2050.
It also warns there could be a 28 per cent rise in car ownership, resulting in 10 million more vehicles on the road by the middle of the century.
The Government should aim for the level of car ownership to peak by 2030, it adds.
IN Yulin, Guangxi province, thousands of dogs will be brutally slaughtered this week. This is because of the barbaric 10-day dog meat festival which began on Monday.
Despite campaigners seeking to appeal to the Chinese government, the hope of a last-minute reprieve was already too late for many.
As we look on every summer in disgust, it’s worth considering that this is just a snapshot into the dog and cat meat trade which is commonplace in China and elsewhere.
Throughout the long journeys, dogs often fight due to the distress that they’re under, or are left crushed due to the weight of the other dogs with
which they share the confined space. These animals are killed in some of the most horrific ways imaginable.
Drowning, hanging and torching are all methods deployed with dogs boiled alive or bundled into a sack and being beaten to death.
As someone who campaigns actively to promote animal welfare standards in the UK and abroad, this trade and the 10-day event sickens me to the bottom of my stomach. Four Paws has
done excellent work to try to bring an end to this trade through government collaboration, supporting local stray animal care programmes, rescues and raising awareness.
As a nation of animal lovers, we are leading the way in many areas within the remit of animal welfare. However, it’s imperative that governments globally work together and stamp out this sickening trade for good, for both public safety and animal welfare alike.