皇冠体育app

Transport Minister Norman Baker gave a video address to the IMS Consulting Sustainable Business Breakfast held in Bristol on how the government believes a low carbon future is essential to our nation鈥檚 future prosperity.

Transcript

Thank you for inviting me to speak today (4 October 2011) at this IMS Consulting Sustainable Business Breakfast.

I鈥檓 sorry I can鈥檛 be with you in person but, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I can at least attend in spirit. It鈥檚 just a pity that we don鈥檛 yet have the technology to allow me to share breakfast as well.

Now a few years ago you鈥檇 have been hard pressed to find a group of business people talking sustainability. It simply wasn鈥檛 on their radar. For that matter you鈥檇 have struggled to find a minister with sustainability as part of his or her official brief.

That shows you how far we鈥檝e come. Sustainability has come out of the shadows. It is now part of the mainstream. But the trouble is it sometimes seems to be little more than a tick-box buzzword.

That is to downgrade its vital nature. For me sustainability is about the serious business of preparing for a low carbon future instead of just hoping for the best. And be in no doubt: a low carbon future is essential to our nation鈥檚 future prosperity.

So what does that actually mean from a transport perspective?

Well, it may mean not travelling at all.

It is clear that alternatives to travel - such as telepresence, home and flexible working and working hubs - make sound economic and environmental sense. 皇冠体育appy can boost bottom line profits, and cut carbon. And that is not to mention the health benefits of a working day without the stress of a traffic jam or a crowded train, and the extra flexibility it brings in terms of your workforce.

Yet despite the fact that many businesses - many of you here today (4 October 2011) - are at the forefront of using new technologies in business, the use of such alternatives still tends to be the exception rather than the rule.

This needs to change. It certainly has to next year. With the Olympics just around the corner, and with our transport system preparing for a huge influx of spectators, now is surely the time to emulate the scouts and 鈥渂e prepared鈥�.

But don鈥檛 get me wrong. This isn鈥檛 all your responsibility. 皇冠体育appre鈥檚 a role for government too.

We are determined to turn the UK into a dynamic, low carbon economy.

That鈥檚 why, in June, we set a more radical interim limit on emissions than ever before. Our aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from 1990 levels between 2023 to 2027.

That鈥檚 the equivalent of the equivalent of 1950 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

皇冠体育app government will be publishing an action plan in the autumn setting out options to meet this ambitious target.

Of course, we鈥檙e not starting from scratch.

We鈥檙e already putting more that 拢400 million over the lifetime of this Parliament to support the de-carbonization of road transport.

We鈥檙e ssupporting ultra-low emission vehicles with our Plug-In Car Grant for both private and business buyers and we recognize the importance of reducing the climate impact of liquid fuels and are working to ensure that biofuels are genuinely sustainable over their life cycle by tackling their indirect impacts at the European partners on this matter.

We鈥檙e also paying around 拢47 million to bus operators - through the Green Bus Fund - to provide around 540 new, low carbon buses by April next year. Around 185 hybrid and electric buses are already on the road delivering greenhouse gas savings of more than 30% compared to diesel buses.

And the 鈥榞reening鈥� of the railways is also well underway. We鈥檙e electrifying commuter lines, reducing consumption per train and proposing a high speed network that would offer a genuine alternative to domestic air travel.

Local transport also offers real possibilities for progress, where in many cases we may be able to make a simple switch to more sustainable modes of transport.

As two out of every three trips we make are less than five miles. Why not take the bike instead of taking the car?

This is why we have made available an unprecedented 拢560 million to local authorities through our new Local Sustainable Transport Fund.

皇冠体育app fund enables the delivery of solutions that support economic growth while also reducing carbon.

In July, I announced that 39 projects have won funding of over 拢150 million through the first allocation from the fund. One of these was the West of England Partnership鈥檚 integrated package of measures to promote low carbon alternatives to single-occupancy car use on 6 routes that capture 40% of journeys to work across the West of England.

And I recently opened the pedestrian and cycle Redhayes Bridge over the M5. It鈥檚 a unique way of linking economic development in Exeter with East Devon Growth Point, facilitating better access to employment sites including Exeter Science Park.

What matters about these investments is that we鈥檙e not trying to force top down, one-size-fits-all solutions on local people. Different areas will inevitably come up with their own solutions.

But we can positively influence the travel choices people make.

And with government and business working together, we can make a real difference.

Some of you might call this sustainable.

But I prefer to call it something much more old fashioned - simply good business.