---
title: A Decarbonisation Policy Playbook to support LTP4 development
url: "https://www.systra.com/ireland/expert_insights/a-decarbonisation-policy-playbook-to-support-ltp4-development/"
type: expert_insights
date_published: 2023-07-07
date_modified: 2024-07-01
schema:
  @type: WebPage
language: en-IE
word_count: 1072
reading_time: 6 min
canonical: "https://www.systra.com/ireland/expert_insights/a-decarbonisation-policy-playbook-to-support-ltp4-development/"
featured_image: "https://www.systra.com/ireland/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2023/07/suburban-road-descarbonisation-playbook5.jpg"
type-insight:
  - New Era LTPs
---

# A Decarbonisation Policy Playbook to support LTP4 development

![A Decarbonisation Policy Playbook to support LTP4 development](https://www.systra.com/ireland/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2023/07/suburban-road-descarbonisation-playbook5.jpg)

**Achieving ‘net zero’ by 2050 is no easy task, particularly when many local authorities are struggling with limited resources. Yet the UK is legally bound to 2050 and with the Department of Transport (DfT) guidance on Quantifiable Carbon Reduction imminent, it is clear that decarbonisation must be at the heart of transport planning and every Local Transport Plan. So how can local authorities identify which proposed transport interventions will actually cut carbon and by how much? This is where the Decarbonisation Policy Playbook comes in.**

The **Decarbonisation Policy Playbook** is a comprehensive toolkit commissioned
by [Midlands Connect](https://www.midlandsconnect.uk/about-us/) and developed by
SYSTRA in partnership with Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group. The
toolkit can be used to explore the impact of different interventions and
scenarios in reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, helping to create robust
evidence-based and data-driven Local Transport Plans. The Playbook is designed
to be used by Local Transport Authorities in England, transport policy officers
and consultants working on their behalf.

Midlands Connect discovered a knowledge gap: how could local authorities
identify the most effective transport interventions that would result in carbon
reduction tailored specifically to their area? With the innovative Playbook
tool, local authorities can now eliminate the guesswork (and stress), involved
in appraising the likely carbon reduction impacts of measures which they may
want to include in their local plans.

The Decarbonisation Policy Playbook will help Local Transport Authorities follow
the DfT’s recommended approach to the Quantifying Carbon Reduction (QCR)
component of the LTP4 process and support with the development of the
all-important ‘net zero’ challenge. The Playbook can be considered as a really
useful ready reckoner to enable LTAs identify, at a strategic level, the schemes
and policies that can be included in their Net Zero strategy.  Schemes can then
be designed and appraised in detail to make sure that the right interventions
will achieve the planned outcomes.

![decarbonisation-car-graphic](https://www.systra.com/ireland/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2023/07/decarbonisation-car-graphic.png)

We know that improvements to make sustainable modes – walking, cycling and
public transport – more attractive can generate significant increases in the use
of these modes, but it is often difficult to find evidence to quantify the
corresponding reduction in car kms and any associated reduction in Greenhouse 
Gas (GHG) emissions.  The appraisal of measures including the reallocation of
road space from car traffic to sustainable modes needs particular care in order
to capture the trade-off between the reduced car kms and any higher emissions
per km from traffic that remains.  The Decarbonisation Playbook captures these
complexities and many other scenarios, so it can help inform initial strategic
decisions on what to include or exclude from an LTP.

**So how does the Playbook work?** Designed for ease of use, the ‘User
Interface’ allows users to select interventions and add them to a scenario for
analysis. Users can test single interventions or packages of interventions for
maximum flexibility. For example, the initial plan might include improvements to
walking and cycling networks, improved bus priority, increased parking charges
and the introduction of a Workplace Parking Levy in relevant urban centres.  The
Playbook can be used to answer questions over time such as: will the addition of
certain measures reduce the GHG emission rate?  The Playbook does the hard graft
for its users, behind the scenes, the ‘Calculation Engine’ crunches the numbers
and applies the impact of the chosen interventions to vehicle kilometres.
Finally, the ‘Emissions Module’ uses the revised future fleet profile
proportions to calculate carbon emissions in each future year and generates
charts and tables which clearly summarise the predicted carbon reductions over
time.

![graph-commute](https://www.systra.com/ireland/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2023/07/graph-commute.jpg)

The Playbook is calibrated to predict how geography will affect the predicted
impacts of different interventions, with seven place types, ranging from city
centres which have constrained parking and higher mode share of public transport
and active modes to remote rural areas which have longer-than-average trip
lengths and where the alternatives to car use for all but the shortest journeys
are limited.

The Playbook uses the local or regional authority’s distribution of place types
(based on ONS boundary data or MSOA) to allocate traffic emissions and apply the
impacts relevant to each place type. There are typically much lower impacts in
rural areas and small towns than in city centres and suburban areas. The
Playbook then then fits the jigsaw pieces together to provide an estimate of the
change in a local authority’s overall traffic emissions.

**The benefits don’t stop there.** The Playbook generates informative outputs,
including graphs providing an emissions forecast with the new strategy in place.
Users then have the evidence they need to track progress and make informed
decisions in accordance with the DfT’s QCR guidance.

**The Playbook is built upon a robust evidence base.** It combines case study
data from 122 sources selected from a comprehensive ‘Rapid Evidence Assessment’
scoring system with analysis of the mode split patterns of around 1.5 million
individual trips recorded by the English National Travel Survey between 2012 and
2019.

![decarbonisation-playbook-chart-1-1](https://www.systra.com/ireland/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2023/07/decarbonisation-playbook-chart-1-1.png)

_Weekly Commute Urban Large_

The drive to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 is a crucial step in our battle
against climate change, yet the timeframe is relatively short considering the
magnitude of the behaviour change required.  This powerful evidence-based tool
will help manage expectations regarding what can be delivered through a package
of ‘carrot-only’ measures and if indeed big ‘sticks’ are required.

With the Decarbonisation Policy Playbook, local transport authorities can plan
with confidence and be assured that their estimates of carbon reductions are
based on a standardised evidence-base and DfT-approved approach.

If you require assistance with any aspect of your LTP4 preparation including the
Quantified Carbon Reduction process, please contact David Connolly at SYSTRA
[dconnolly@systra.com ](https://www.systra.com/ireland/expert_insights/a-decarbonisation-policy-playbook-to-support-ltp4-development/dconnolly@systra.com)

1 An additional 0.3 million trips are available to calibrate trips made by
residents of the Greater London Area, but the current version of the tool is
specifically designed to be applied outside the GLA, so these trips by residents
of the GLA have been excluded from the calibration process.

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