The UK Climate Change Programme (2006) set out the Government policies to reduce carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions in six sectors including transport. Since then, a concerted programme of proposed action in response to climate change has been pursued across Government, led by the Department of Energy and Climate Change and Defra with particular emphasis on the UK-Climate Change Act 2008 adaptation provisions.
The Climate Change Act 2008 put in place a process for assessing and managing the risks and opportunities to the UK from climate change. The principle aims and objectives of the Climate Change Act (2008) were to:
- Set a target for the year 2050 for the reduction of targeted greenhouse gas emissions;
- Provide for a system of carbon budgeting;
- Establish an Adaptation Sub-Committee of the Committee on Climate Change;
- Confer powers to establish trading schemes for the purpose of limiting greenhouse gas emissions or encouraging activities that reduce such emissions or remove greenhouse gas from the atmosphere;
- Make provision about adaptation to climate change;
- Confer powers to make schemes for providing financial incentives to produce less domestic waste and to recycle more of what is produced;
- Make provision about the collection of household waste;
- Confer powers to make provision about charging for single use carrier bags;
- Amend the provisions of the Energy Act (2004) about renewable transport fuel obligations;
- Make provision about carbon emissions reduction targets;
- Make other provision about climate change; and for connected purposes .
Planning and transport policies can play a big role in minimising the risks associated with climate change. At the same time, transport infrastructure is exceptionally vulnerable to the effects of climate change and comprises of several modes which could each suffer from a varied and separate threat. The multi-institutional report Infrastructure, Engineering and Climate Change: ensuring services in an uncertain future specified the various threats attributed to each mode of transport as a result of climate change and the potential associated consequences.
The report describes how all sectors were aware of the potential impact of climate change, and were generally advanced in their planning for mitigation and adaptation. However, they offered the recommendation that there was little cross-mode knowledge transfer. In addition, there is little known about the impacts of climate change on aviation, and on wind strength and direction, concluding that further research was needed (RAEng et al, 2011: p16).