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-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Public transport role central to climate challenge, says RMT
Date: 	Mon, 20 Nov 2006 13:32:26 GMT
From: 	RMT media office <[log in to unmask]>
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STATUTORY TARGETS to get people out of cars and onto public transport 
must be a central plank of any strategy to combat climate change, 
Britain?s specialist transport union says today.

As MPs prepared to debate the environmental aspects of last week's 
Queen's Speech, RMT put forward for discussion an eight-point action 
plan aimed at harnessing public transport to help combat global warming. 
The eight points are:

    * Introduction of statutory targets for 'modal shift' in transport
      use from private car and air travel to trains, buses and trams
    * The Climate Change Bill to include statutory targets, averaged
      over three years, for the reduction of carbon emissions in the
      transport sector.
    * A statutory requirement for the Department for Transport to
      publish a strategy for reducing carbon emissions in the transport
      sector.
    * Regulated and simplified rail and bus fares structured to
      encourage modal shift, rather than dictated by commercial
      considerations.
    * Investment for significant increases in rail and bus capacity to
      be supported by ring-fenced revenues from road pricing. 
    * Increased investment and research into the production of
      carbon-efficient buses, trains cars and aeroplanes.
    * An immediate review of the government's road-building and
      airport-expansion plans.
    * Amendment of the ACAS Code of Practice and legislation to give
      trade-union environmental representatives the same rights as
      industrial and health and safety reps. 

 "A climate-change bill is an important first step, but Britain will 
only be able to meet its climate-change challenge if policy measures are 
introduced that will get people out of cars and planes and onto trains, 
buses and trams," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"To do that public transport has to be made attractive, available and 
affordable for all.

"Ring-fencing revenue raised from road-pricing would be a welcome step 
towards making sufficient funds available to invest in the public 
transport Britainneeds.

"The joined-up transport network the environment needs must also mean an 
end to the damaging fragmentation brought about by bus deregulation and 
rail privatisation," Bob Crow said.

ends

*Notes to editors: *Carbon emissions from transport account for around a 
quarter of all UKcarbon emissions, the vast majority from road 
transport, and transport is also currently the fastest-growing source of 
greenhouse gases.

A recent Universityof Oxfordreport said that forecasted aviation growth 
would mean all other sectors of the economy would have to cut their 
emissions by between 71 per cent and 87 per cent by 2050, rather than 
the 60 per cent proposed by the government.

Public transport role central to climate challenge, says RMT 
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