---
title: Decarbonisation of Transport
url: "https://www.systra.com/uk/expert_insights/decarbonisation-of-transport/"
type: expert_insights
date_published: 2022-10-10
date_modified: 2024-06-05
schema:
  @type: WebPage
language: en-GB
word_count: 410
reading_time: 3 min
canonical: "https://www.systra.com/uk/expert_insights/decarbonisation-of-transport/"
featured_image: "https://www.systra.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2023/05/graphic-depicting-cyclists-electric-car-charging-and-a-reduction-in-co2.png"
type-insight:
  - Local Transport Planning
---

# Decarbonisation of Transport

![Decarbonisation of Transport](https://www.systra.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2023/05/graphic-depicting-cyclists-electric-car-charging-and-a-reduction-in-co2.png)

**The UK is required to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050. This means the carbon emissions from energy, industry and transport must fall below the amount of carbon taken out of the atmosphere by our forests, peat bogs and any carbon capture technology.**

Carbon emissions from transport have only reduced by 3% since 2009 and, as a
result, more of the UK’s carbon emissions now come from transport than from any
other sector of the economy.

![Traffic Pollution](https://www.systra.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2022/10/traffic-pollution-istock-1126419555-1024x683.jpg)

Private cars and taxis currently account for over 50% of these transport
emissions, with vans and HGVs together contributing a further 30%. Reducing and
decarbonising road transport therefore plays a crucial role in achieving the Net
Zero target.

The new era of Local Transport Plans (LTPs) will need to include ambitious
Quantifiable Carbon Reductions (QCR) from transport which are consistent with
the corresponding local carbon budgets required to achieve the UK’s Net Zero
objective.

The Department for Transport are currently preparing technical guidance, and
supporting the development of various toolkits, which will help local
authorities ensure that their LTPs include effective transport-related carbon
reduction strategies, and to help them quantify the expected carbon reductions
of their LTPs.

Achieving Net Zero carbon for transport movements will not be easy and will
require the development of strategies which encompass a wide range of
initiatives and schemes which:

- Reduce the need to travel outside of our immediate area to access day-to-day
  services, for example using ‘liveable communities’ concepts.

- Prioritise the consideration of carbon emissions within our travel decisions.

- Change the relative real and perceived cost of low carbon and high carbon
  transport modes and vehicles.

- Ensure that the pathway to low carbon is equitable and accessible for all of
  our residents, workers and visitors.

LTPs will need to quantify the impacts of proposed measures on reducing carbon
emissions to show the proposed timelines into achieving Net Zero, which may
require initiatives that have the greatest impact on achieving the climate
emergency goals being prioritised.

There is also an imperative to consider the resilience of our transport networks
to the changes which have already been ‘baked in’ to the climate in the coming
years by the additional greenhouse gases which have already been emitted, or
which will be added between now and the achievement of the Net Zero position.

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