Speech at the Transport Atmosphere and Climate conference

Speech by Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP Secretary of State for Transport.

[Check Against Delivery]

1. Thank you for that kind introduction. I am delighted to be here with you at this conference today to recognise the important work that you across the scientific and academic community continue to undertake on the issue of climate change.
2. Almost every month - indeed almost every day new scientific evidence brings home to us the scale, impact and causes of climate change. Just last week saw publication in the journal "Nature" of a new study on the role of aircraft contrails in climate change, reflecting work from the University of Reading.
3. The result of such research may not always make for easy reading - but understanding these issues is vital.
4. Thanks to such scientific research the debate is no longer about whether climate change is happening - but how it can be stabilised. Concern has moved from the pages of peer reviewed journals to the pages of our national newspapers. And knowing the problem is critical to implementing the right solutions.
5. In transport the challenge of CO2 emissions feeds straight back to issues of fuel efficiency, alternative fuels, operational practice and therefore also to transport choices.
6. And given their significance, and the need for a fuller understanding of their climactic impact, it is also right that NOx emissions, contrails and cirrus from aviation and shipping emissions are also on your agenda today.
7. We need to deepen our knowledge of the impact of transport on the environment, exploring the causes and the long term effects. Your work is crucial in enabling us to understand the problem and develop effective responses.
8. And it feeds the international debate and helps us win support for the environmental agenda in politics at all levels. That is why the EU ATTICA assessment being launched at this conference, and your scientific research, is strongly supported by the UK.
9. There is no longer any serious scientific doubt that climate change is real, accelerating and caused by human activities. Put simply, dealing with it is perhaps the greatest long term challenge we all face.
10. It is a challenge I would argue today that we must and can only meet together.
11. So what is the appropriate response to this challenge? I want to take this opportunity today to set out what we are doing and what more we need to do.
12. Our starting point must be to establish a collective approach to tackling climate change. Carbon emissions matter just as much whether they are emitted by an exhaust pipe or a power station chimney. Carbon molecules in the atmosphere do not stop conveniently at borders and boundaries. It doesn't matter where carbon is emitted, or by what means, the problem of climate change is global - and so therefore is the solution.
13. I have already underlined the importance of science in helping us to understand the problem. I would suggest that Government, the market, academia and individuals all have key roles to play.
14. For Government in transport policy there is a real challenge of seeking to meet the expectations of the population and the needs of a growing economy while meeting our environmental obligations.
15. We cannot do one at the expense of the other - our future prosperity depends on us achieving both.
16. And I would argue that if we make the right investments and if we make responsible choices, then we need not choose between a cleaner environment and a prosperous economy.
17. The two can and should go hand in hand. Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman of General Electric commented recently that climate change technologies are going to be at the centre of his company's profits strategy in the next decade. Green technology from renewables to fuel cells can be one of the key job and wealth generators in the coming years.
18. Harnessing the innovative power of the market can have powerful results. The Government's Climate Change Programme deliberately sets out a flexible approach to secure carbon reductions across the economy, wherever they are most effectively made.
19. This is vital because it means we are able to secure the most reductions for any given cost and with the least impact on growth and productivity.
20. Which is why as a Government here in the UK, we feel it is so important to work towards including the aviation industry within the EU emissions trading scheme, so that the market is used for environmental ends.
21. This could have a big impact on carbon reduction, and in time, we could look towards extending emissions trading to other forms of transport.
22. But alongside this vital work at an international level, Government needs to ensure an effective transport system at a national level, which also plays its part in helping us to meet our environmental obligations on CO2 emissions.
23. That is why the heart of our transport policy is putting sustained, long term investment into public transport in this country to improve the reliability of journeys by rail, by light rail, and by bus, giving more people a real alternative to travelling by car.
24. And as a means of tackling congestion I have made a personal commitment to advancing the debate on a national scheme of road pricing.
25. But these measures alone are not enough. Car manufacturers need to continue to push and be pushed towards the boundaries of technology to develop cleaner vehicles, whilst recognising the purchasing public's concerns for safety, performance and cost.
26. Car manufacturers increasingly understand that investing in research into cleaner more efficient engines is a smart investment. Being on the leading edge of technology strengthens their competitive position and can create new jobs.
27. In the past voluntary agreements with motor manufacturers have played a significant part in improving the fuel-efficiency of cars. Since 1997, the average new car fuel efficiency in the UK has improved by 10%.
28. Given this success, we are currently discussing how best to take forward new agreements with car manufacturers to achieve even greater fuel efficiency for new cars in the future. We will consider Mandatory targets as a possible successor.
29. For this is not a task for industry alone. Government also has a role in working with industry to shape the best possible framework for new technology to make a difference.
30. An important step towards this is ensuring that a certain percentage of transport fuel sold in the UK is made up of biofuels - and that is what we will do, by introducing a Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation - at a level of 5% of biofuels into annual sales by 2010.
31. Introducing an RTFO may not be noticed by drivers at the petrol pump, but its overall effect on reducing emissions will be considerable.
32. Changing behaviour, however, means that individuals have a key role to play. We need to continue to do all we can to make people aware of their own individual impact on the environment.
33. And just as the scientific community has been crucial in bringing forward the evidence base for climate change, it is organisations such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and Sustrans who have done a great deal to embed this vital debate in the public consciousness.
34. People now make greener choices every day in many aspects of their lives - from recycling to energy conservation. In part, they are doing this because of better information. Anyone who uses the internet can access one of the many new 'carbon footprint' calculators that reflect on how your lifestyle affects climate change. Switch on the TV and there are more and more greener lifestyle programmes.
35. In transport we need to work to make people aware of the impact they can have - and give them real choices about alternatives that can make a difference.
36. We already do this in some areas. As a result of my Department working with industry, most UK car showrooms now display colour coded labels that say clearly how fuel efficient the cars are - so people have the opportunity at the point of sale to choose a greener, more fuel efficient car. We need to do more.
37. And recognising that many people need their cars and all of us need to get around, we need to give more people a real alternative to taking their car.
38. A lot of work has been done in my Department to encourage better journey planning both in schools and the workplace.
39. For a school this can mean anything from supervised walking and bike clubs, to parents clubbing together to share school runs to cut down on the number of car journeys to and from school.
40. I am told that the best travel plans can reduce traffic around the school by over 20%. 10,000 travel plans are already in place - that is 40% of schools. We are getting on with the rest.
41. And when you consider that over 40% of trips made ever day by car are less than two miles, there must be scope for more journeys to be made by bike - and this is something I want to explore further.
42. But many parents feel they don't have a choice to let their children walk or cycle to school. They worry about safety. Then there is the convenience. But would they sometimes leave their cars at home if they are given better, safer choices for their children? I believe many would - and I want us to offer that choice to more parents and children.
43. That is why today I am doubling Cycling England's budget to £30m over the next three years. The additional funds will provide extra cycle training for up to 100,000 more children and make it safer by creating more cycle paths into schools.
44. If we can get children into cycling early, with a strong focus on safety, there are real potential benefits. This is just one piece in the jigsaw, to make transport greener, which could also set good habits for life. And we need to let people know that small choices can have a big impact.
45. As my colleague David Miliband has recently argued, too often people feel powerless in the face of threats such as climate change. The policy and political challenge is to translate the concern and fear many people feel about climate change into optimism and action.
46. All this underlines our commitment to a long term strategy to tackle climate change. It is a strategy based on partnership, which reaches out across the economy to sustain prosperity and economic growth.
47. It is a strategy which sees Government, the market civil society, scientists and academia as allies in meeting our environmental challenges.
48. Governments across the globe need to continue to work together to pursue this common strategy. And indeed in the UK I will continue to work closely with my colleagues David Miliband, Alistair Darling and Ruth Kelly to pursue a common approach across Government.
49. In this young century, that is our shared responsibility and our shared opportunity. I wish you every success in this timely conference, as you continue your important work.

Delivered: 26 June 2006

(This speech represented existing departmental policy but the words may not have been the same as those used by the Minister.)