Climate change and cycling provisions

[Steady rider]

http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/tran ... dex_en.htm

Could the climate change policy include provisions for promoting and funding cycling?

Greenhouse gas emissions in other sectors decreased 15% between 1990 and 2007 but emissions from transport increased 36% during the same period.

A wide range of EU policies to lower emissions
As greenhouse gas emissions have been increasing for most modes of transport, the EU has so far put a range of policies in place aiming to lower emissions from the sector. These include: (proposal added in red)
• aviation has been included in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS);
• a strategy is in place to reduce emissions from cars and vans, including emissions targets for new vehicles;
• a strategy for reducing heavy duty vehicle fuel consumption and CO2 emissions;
• a target is in place to reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of fuels;
• rolling resistance limits and tyre labelling requirements have been introduced and tyre pressure monitors made mandatory on new vehicles;
• legislation encouraging national authorities to deploy gas and electricity infrastructure; and,
• public authorities are required to take account of life time energy use and CO2 emissions when procuring vehicles

.

The list may be improved by including provisions for promoting cycling. Suggestions;
• National governments to fund cycling infrastructure with a minimum investment of transport spending to match the the percentage of travellers cycling, modal share of cycling, e.g cycling to work perhaps 3%, allocation for cycling of 3% from the total spending on transport.

Could your MEP support including a cycling provision in the Climate Change agreements?

[Ron]

• National governments to fund cycling infrastructure with a minimum investment of transport spending to match the the percentage of travellers cycling, modal share of cycling, e.g cycling to work perhaps 3%, allocation for cycling of 3% from the total spending on transport.

Expenditure to match the numbers presently cycling would be insufficient if we are to get more people cycling, and why only count those cycling to work? We need expenditure to match the numbers who could be using the bicycle for utility and leisure cycling. Getting more people into an active lifestyle through cycling could reduce NHS expenditure.

[pwa]

Getting people to cycle rather than use a car, for journeys where that is appropriate, could result in lower greenhouse gas emissions, but aviation is the big one for me. It is mostly avoidable, a luxury. One return flight to New York is supposed to produce as much greenhouse gas effect as running a small car over a year. Which means that a cyclist with no car, who takes two long haul flights a year, could be doing the damage of two or more cars. I think a lot of people are choosing to ignore this problem. It is people seeing the world and destroying it as they do so.

[Psamathe]

• National governments to fund cycling infrastructure with a minimum investment of transport spending to match the the percentage of travellers cycling, modal share of cycling, e.g cycling to work perhaps 3%, allocation for cycling of 3% from the total spending on transport.

Expenditure to match the numbers presently cycling would be insufficient if we are to get more people cycling, and why only count those cycling to work? We need expenditure to match the numbers who could be using the bicycle for utility and leisure cycling. Getting more people into an active lifestyle through cycling could reduce NHS expenditure.

I agree. Also, %age of travellers cycling might be difficult to measure and would allow politicians to chose what data they wanted to "accept". Personally I think the funding should either be based on an absolute figure (e.g. £10 per person per year) or if it must be use related based on the target number of people cycling.

But it gets far more complex as there needs to be safeguards otherwise all that funding will just be spent on new roundabouts to speed the passage of cars and lorries.

Ian

[mjr]

But it gets far more complex as there needs to be safeguards otherwise all that funding will just be spent on new roundabouts to speed the passage of cars and lorries.

I agree with all of the post, but even having money labelled as cycling funding would be a step ahead of where we are now, where cycling in most of the country gets nothing most of the time. Probably the best safeguard would be to require highways designers and planners to have up-to-date cycling design knowledge, to try to avoid it being tacked-on as an afterthought or forgotten entirely.

[axel_knutt]

A wide range of EU policies to lower emissions
As greenhouse gas emissions have been increasing for most modes of transport, the EU has so far put a range of policies in place aiming to lower emissions from the sector. These include: (proposal added in red)
• aviation has been included in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS);
• a strategy is in place to reduce emissions from cars and vans, including emissions targets for new vehicles;
• a strategy for reducing heavy duty vehicle fuel consumption and CO2 emissions;
• a target is in place to reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of fuels;
• rolling resistance limits and tyre labelling requirements have been introduced and tyre pressure monitors made mandatory on new vehicles;
• legislation encouraging national authorities to deploy gas and electricity infrastructure; and,
• public authorities are required to take account of life time energy use and CO2 emissions when procuring vehicles

Note the conspicuous absence of curbing demand, or the effect of risk compensation.

[Steady rider]

Some rough estimates'
DfT spending on transport is about £28 billion. If 3% was for cycling, this would be, 28,000,000,000 x 0.03 = £840 million. For England and Wales, about 54 million people, about £15 per person. This level of investment would provide funding to make a difference to infrastructure and the level of cycling activity. The health, climate, tourist income and social returns would make it worthwhile.

http://ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar ... apter8.pdf

Page 635
6. Modal shift by cycling
displacing private motor
vehicle use.

Rapid short-term growth
already happening in many
cities.

Significant displacement
only where quality system
infrastructure is provided.

Cultural barriers and lack of
safe cycling infrastructure and
regulations. Harsh climate.

Demonstrations of quality
cycling infrastructure
including cultural programmes
and bike-sharing schemes.

Bassett et al., 2008; Garrard
et al., 2008; Salter et al.,
2011; Anon, 2012; Sugiyama
et al., 2012

page 636 discusses ‘8.8.2 Financing low-carbon transport’

The proposal to progress cycling is sound and the issue is how best to move it forward (worldwide). A cycling group at the Climate change conference pressing for change could be helpful, talking to the media, pressing the case.