As the emissions scandal widens across the world, we should not let the corporate hand-wringing and false government outrage obscure the real and terrifying health affects of car emissions. People die directly as a result of air pollution which is predominately caused by motor transport. The particulates which motor transport emit cause a minimum of 29,000 deaths a year in the UK and with the extremely harmful Nitrogen Dioxide added the actual figure estimate to be much higher.
Government after government has sat on their hands over this, offering piece-meal solutions afraid to enrage the motoring lobby and the voters, many of which depend on their private motor transport. The Green Party of England & Wales has long called for local and integrated transport networks, which would dramatically decrease the dependence on this private motor transport and as a result see to a huge decrease in the harmful air pollution blighting our cities and towns.
In Southampton you can still barely ride a bicycle across the city without fear of being caught up in an accident or breathing in the toxic fumes of motor emissions. Add to this, the lack of adequate public bus transport to get from the east to the westside of the city, it is no wonder that people stick to their cars.
The local council need to invest in the infrastructure that will see to a real and measurable drop in emissions. This may not be entirely possible with government money, given the huge cuts enforced by central government, but the council need to think outside-of-the-box. Develop partnerships with sustainable businesses, charities and local groups to come up with innovative ideas to improve the health of the residents of the city. The Green Party national policy framework on transport has the vision for this to happen.
