Whatever else it is, the proposed M4 relief road is not a “sustainable and long-term solution” to anything. A sustainable transport plan is one that requires only minimum inputs from the environment and that therefore can be extended into the indefinite future.
An approach to transport that relies on the indefinite availability of fossil fuels plainly fails to meet this definition. Electric cars have a role to play in reducing urban pollution but the idea that 25 million cars currently powered by petrol and gas can be replaced by electric vehicles in the timescale required to mitigate the effects of climate change is simply implausible.
We also need to consider the problem of HGVs; no one that I am aware of is suggesting that these could be electrically powered in the near future.
The big issue is climate change. To maintain the sustainability of life on planet earth all countries must reduce their consumption of fossil fuels and it is the rich countries like the UK that must make the biggest reduction.
Unfortunately, for many years there has been a well financed campaign of disinformation on the subject which has served to confuse the public and thereby draw the sting out of the urgent action needed to safeguard the planet’s future.
Clive Shakesheff
Lewis Way
Chepstow
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