A38 expansion is part of largest ever roads programme

In the March 2020 Budget the Government, announced its ‘largest ever’ roads programme, Road Investment Strategy 2 (RIS2) which includes the £250 million A38 in Derby. In response the small NGO Transport Action Network (TAN) launched a legal challenge to RIS2 and have been granted permission for judicial review on the grounds that climate change, including the Paris Climate Agreement, were not properly taken into account before publishing RIS2.

Transport is a rogue sector when it comes to carbon: the single biggest source of carbon in the UK and the only sector to increase emissions since 1990. Bringing forward the date of the phase out of new petrol and diesel cars to 2030, while essential, will not be sufficient. This is because the majority (around 60%) of cars on the road in 2030 will still be petrol or diesel.

A report by Transport for Quality of Life has estimated that RIS2 will increase carbon by a total of 20 million tonnes between now and 2032. About a third of the emissions will come from construction (including energy required to manufacture steel, concrete and asphalt); a third from increases in vehicle speeds on wider, faster roads; and a third from extra traffic generated by bigger roads stimulating more car-dependent housing, retail parks and business parks.

If we want to seriously reduce carbon and air pollution emissions, reinvesting the funding for RIS2 in improved public transport and walking and cycling infrastructure would be a very good place to start.

Written by Lisa Hopkinson