In celebration of the World Carfree Day and the European Mobility Week we released our first English report on the 22nd of September 2009. Travel doesn’t have to cost the earth is a translation of a report we released in Swedish in November 2008. The report presents five concrete steps towards a climate-smart and fair transport sector in Stockholm.
Download the full report here [.pdf]
Summary
In 2009 the current Kyoto protocol will be replaced by a new international climate agreement. The Swedish EU presidency means that Sweden will play a key role when the world leaders gather in Copenhagen to sign the new agreement.
With this in mind, we in Planka.nu want to turn the focus from abstract percentages and climate targets to concrete political measures. The transport sector is the major climate villain in Sweden, being responsible for more than 40 percent of our environmentally hazardous emissions. The main culprit is road traffic, which since 1990 has increased its emissions with no less than 12 percent. Today it is responsible for approximately 30 percent of all emissions.
A powerful climate adjustment requires comprehensive infrastructural changes in the transport sector. The key to climate adjustment is to be found in the cities, where most of the emissions are generated. Through simple reforms such as planning our cities for public transport, bicycle and pedestrian transport, we can actively reduce car traffic and cut the emission rates in our cities.
This report presents five concrete steps towards a fair and climate-smart reconstruction of the Stockholm transport sector:
- Transport-saving social planning
- Major investments in rail-carried public transport
- Stop on all road expansions
- Car-free city-centre
- Fare-free public transport
We hope that this report will contribute to a deeper discussion about how we want to shape our city, and put focus on the importance of a fairly conducted climate adjustment.
_Planka.nu
Stockholm, Sweden
September 2009_