New roads are not the answer for Chichester traffic

The Chancellor’s budget heads off down the motorway on the road to a hellish climate catastrophe.

In announcing over £27billion of Tarmac for 4,000 miles of major new roads, the Government ignores its own legally binding carbon targets.

Transport emissions are the biggest contributor to the UK’s carbon emissions – 90 per cent come from roads.

The UK is hosting a crucial UN climate in just eight months’ time. The summit – Cop26 in Glasgow – is a world pledge to offer bigger cuts in emissions to head off a climate crisis.

There will be opportunities to show a lead before November with the government’s long-delayed national infrastructure plan and comprehensive spending and CO2 net zero review.

This is a year of huge consequences.

Postponing critical climate action because of coronavirus or Brexit should not be our direction of travel.

The clock’s dial is now one minute to midnight.

Last week’s front page of Chichester Observer headlined ‘New funding hope for A27 improvement’ and ‘Another chance to solve congestion woes’.

Reducing car use while increasing investment in public transport is the ‘hope for improvement’ so desperately needed. Not congested polluting roads.