SCOTS have been told they have to start making “different choices” on travel, as a new report suggested ending the use of petrol and diesel cars in 2045.
The report, written by experts at Element Energy for the Scottish Government, said this was needed in addition to existing plans to stop the sale of cars and vans powered by fossil fuels by 2030.
Ending the sale of petrol or diesel-powered trucks is required by 2035, it recommended, while the sale of buses that use these fuels should end a decade earlier by 2025.
The report also called for all diesel trains to be replaced with hydrogen or electric-powered ones by 2035.
It stressed the main transport mode for people travelling in and between Scotland’s towns and cities “must switch from private cars” to public or active transport over the next 10 years. “Walking must become the preferred mode of transport for short journeys,” the report stated.
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It added that cycling – using both pedal and electric bikes – should also be a “viable mode for both urban and inter-urban journeys”.
Change is needed after the Scottish Parliament passed legislation committing the country to achieve net zero emissions by 2045 – and to reducing emissions by 75% by 2030.
As part of this, the Scottish Government has set the goal of cutting transport emissions by 56% by the end of this decade.
Meeting the targets will require “high zero-emission vehicle uptake, major modal shift to more efficient transport modes, such as buses and rail, and a significant reduction in transport demand”, the report warned.
It added that making such changes “will have a major impact on the lives of everyone in Scotland” – although there would be benefits, such as improved public health, increased access to green spaces, and reduced congestion and road deaths.
Speaking as the report was published, Transport Minister Graeme Dey said: “The climate and nature emergencies are the starkest issues facing humanity.
“For Scotland to appropriately address these it will require all of us, across the parliament and wider society, to work together to transition to net zero and achieve the ambitious emission targets set by this parliament.”
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As transport is the “biggest emitting sector”, the minister said it followed that “some of the biggest changes need to be made in transport”.
However, he accepted this would be “challenging” and will “require radical behavioural change”.
Dey stressed: “This report is clear, technology alone will not achieve the transformational change required.
“We need to start making different choices and behaving differently if we are to meet our 2030 emissions targets.”
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