More than half of the emissions choking London today will remain by the Mayor’s net zero target date of 2030, new research from Zack Polanski finds.
In the coming year, changes to national carbon budgets will lead to a need for faster and stronger action to cut transport emissions. The highest levels of carbon emissions come from car use in outer London, and the report shows the real difference a cycling revolution could make.
The report found, in just one week, 242,574 journeys were taken on bikes in the central cycle hire zone. This suggests that if these schemes were expanded, there could be almost a million more cycling trips across London each week.
The Committee on Climate Change has said that it is important to carry forward the ‘climate positive behaviours’ seen in the past year. Zack’s report recommends revaluating cycling potential in London, with a particular focus on how cycling can contribute to the decarbonisation of transport throughout the city.
Zack Polanski says:
We can’t forget the crucial lessons learned in the past year.
The whole of London deserves to breathe cleaner, safer air, not just people living in the centre.
“If we want to make our air cleaner and create accessible routes to greener transport, there has to be a total upheaval of how we encourage and fund increased cycling activity.
“My report demonstrates how one of the key solutions to achieving net zero will be supporting Londoners to get out of their cars and onto bikes. The Mayor has to act now by taking up these recommendations if we want to even come close to net zero by 2030.
Currently, the cycle hire scheme available in central London makes up as much as 20 per cent of the cycling traffic on key routes.
The report proposes a new model for the expansion of cycle hire for outer London, using appropriate measures for local areas so that all Londoners have access to hire bikes.
Date of publication: 30 june 2021
Author: Zack Polański
