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new board of high-profile expert stakeholders to guide
and shape government’s transport decarbonisation plan
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today’s first meeting of industry leaders to advise
government on steps to ensure green recovery
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public to be given opportunity to provide feedback on
transport decarbonisation
Transport Secretary will today (8 July 2020)
launch the first meeting of the Net Zero Transport Board to help
guide the decarbonisation of UK transport.
The board will bring together high-profile leaders from a range
of fields including behavioural change and policy, as well as
experts from a number of prominent industry sectors including
environment, science, aviation and technology. The meetings will
guarantee a truly collaborative and joined up approach to
tackling the wide-ranging issue of transport decarbonisation.
The group, who will meet for the first time later today, will
provide the opportunity for the Transport Secretary, Transport
Minister and Minister for Clean
Growth to hear from high-profile
expert stakeholders on what steps they feel government should be
taking to ensure a green recovery from coronavirus (COVID-19) and
the associated economic impact.
The agenda will cover what further action the government should
be taking to support jobs and the economy in line with
the UK’s transport
decarbonisation goals with the Transport Secretary highlighting
the government’s aim for 2 million jobs by 2030 in the low carbon
economy and its supply chains, up from 460,000 today.
Mr Shapps will add that many of the actions being taken to
deliver net zero are investments that will also stimulate the
economy and grow new low carbon industries across
the UK.
Transport Secretary said:
Transport has a huge part to play in tackling climate change
and today’s meeting is another important step for this country
on our road to net zero.
Clearly our ground-breaking transport decarbonisation plan must
be shaped by the best brains and informed by the widest array
of expertise and experience.
I’m determined to build a greener, healthier, more prosperous
Britain for future generations and I have no doubt that the Net
Zero Transport Board will play an integral part in our green
recovery.
The board will also help shape and inform the transport
decarbonisation plan coming later this year. It is the first time
the UK will lay out
its approach to decarbonising every form of transport, setting
out a credible and ambitious pathway to delivering transport’s
contribution to carbon budgets and to meeting net zero by 2050.
Last year, the UK became the first major economy in
the world to pass laws to end its contribution to global warming
by 2050. The target will require the UKto bring all greenhouse gas emissions
to net zero by 2050, compared with the previous target of at
least 80% reduction from 1990 levels.
Alongside the first meeting of the board today, the government is
also providing an opportunity for the public
to feed back their views online on the development of the
transport decarbonisation plan to ensure that the plan
works for everyone.
Transport Minister said:
The Transport Net Zero Board will be a key component of our
greenprint for the future.
The coronavirus pandemic has led to people making huge changes
to the way they live, work and travel, and we want to
capitalise and build on the new habits people have developed,
as well as champion the power of new, cleaner technologies on
our road to a green recovery.
The government has pledged to put a green recovery for transport
at the heart of its decisions, and the meeting later today
follows the unprecedented work taking place as part of the green
economic recovery including a £2 billion fund for cycling and
walking – the largest investment ever made in this area.
