TfN to review its plan against climate targets

ENVIRONMENT

Environmental campaigners are hoping Transport for the North will jettison some of its road plans next year, in a review to ensure its new strategic transport plan (STP) is consistent with Government climate change targets.

The STP, approved by TfN’s board last month, includes extensive plans for road and rail investment (LTT 01 Feb). But it also includes a commitment to  prepare a ‘Pathway to 2050’ next year to keep the North on track to cut carbon dioxide emissions in line with the 51 and 57 per cent reductions of the Government’s fourth and fifth carbon budgets (2023-2027, 2028-2032), and 80 per cent by 2050. 

Environmental campaigner Anthony Rae explains how the green groups have influenced TfN’s climate change thinking in this week’s Viewpoint. He pointed LTT to a statement in the STP that says: “TfN commits that the scale and type of programmes and interventions, and underpinning scenarios, will if necessary be adjusted in order to be consistent with the ‘Pathway to 2050’ over the lifetime of the STP.” 

“I actually wrote that,” said Rae. “Whilst they changed ‘constrained’ to ‘adjusted’, it’s the same thing