Presidential Roundtable: what needs to be in a plan to decarbonise transport?

This roundtable, chaired by ICE’s President Rachel Skinner, was an in-conversation session with Rachel Maclean MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport.

To discuss the question: a plan to decarbonise transport - what needs to be in it?

Background

There is no plausible path to net zero without major transport emissions reductions – reductions that need to start being delivered soon. The Committee on Climate Change has called for a 98% reduction in transport emissions by 2050.

The Department for Transport (DfT’s) ‘Decarbonising Transport: Setting the Challenge’ paper published last year set out its six strategic priorities to deliver a vision of a net-zero transport system - including decarbonisation of road vehicles, accelerating modal shift to public and active transport, place-based solutions and ensuring the UK is a hub for green transport technology and innovation. It also included a plea to work with industry to create a vision for how a net-zero transport system will benefit us all.

The next step is DfT’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan, which will be published this spring and a final plan expected in the autumn.

This event was held under the Chatham House rule and explored electrification of transport, the shift to lower-emission transport modes, and how to encourage place-based solutions.