We asked a number of groups with different points of view to give their opinions on how best to tackle road congestion. These views are their own and are presented here unedited to help inform the debate.
Tony Juniper, Executive Director, Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth is the world’s biggest grassroots environmental group with 70 groups worldwide. We have 200 voluntary groups and more than 100,000 supporters in Britain.
Read Tony Juniper’s views
- Congestion and Pollution
Most people agree the UK’s roads are in a mess with too much congestion and pollution. And most motorists agree we need to do something about it. So it’s good we’re debating what to do. Road pricing isn’t a magic solution, but it does have an important role to play.
- Costing the economy
Not only is congestion costing the British economy billions, but transport is the only sector where emissions of carbon dioxide, the main climate change gas, are rising.
Carbon dioxide emissions from road transport make up over a fifth of UK emissions. The Government desperately needs to help people use their cars less and choose the least polluting forms of travelling.
- New roads aren’t the answer
Building roads and widening motorways won’t work. At best it’s a short-term fix. It just leads to more traffic and more pollution and ultimately more congestion.
- Invest in alternatives
Nearly a quarter of all car journeys are less than two miles - we need more investment in public transport, safer streets for cycling and walking and better housing and retail developments that help people create communities less dependent on cars. These solutions are needed now.
National road pricing is a decade away and any revenue raised should be ring-fenced to carry on improving alternatives.
- The Big Ask
Friends of the Earth’s Big Ask campaign calls for solutions to climate change and has already led to the Government promising to introduce a new law to cut carbon dioxide emissions. Road-pricing must cut carbon dioxide emissions as well as congestion.
Friends of the Earth and Transport 2000 have produced a briefing that addresses some of the inaccuracies associated with the campaign against road-pricing.
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