A wake-up call for urgent action on transport 

Roads review decisions cannot come quickly enough

TAN Cymru [1] is saying that the record temperatures experienced this week in Wales [2] highlight the need to take urgent action to reduce carbon emissions. In Wales transport is the third highest emitting sector with 80% of transport emissions coming from road transport. This is not a coincidence, but the result of many years of building newer and bigger roads by default, rather than investing in more sustainable forms of transport. This needs to change quickly and is why the current Welsh roads review [3] is so important. It is revisiting over 50 schemes to see whether they should go ahead in light of policy changes to tackle the climate emergency. 

After years of inaction on climate change, extreme weather events have become the dreaded reality in Wales. These are costly, both in damage to infrastructure as well as to the wider economy, dangerous for the most vulnerable and projected to get worse. 

Paula Renzel, Welsh roads and climate campaigner for TAN Cymru [3] said: 

“The extreme weather of the last few days should be a wake up call for all politicians. The chaos and dangers can no longer be ignored. Climate change is here and we cannot continue with business as usual. We need to curb our emissions and we need to do this quickly using every available option. 

“This highlights the importance of the current roads review. New roads lock us into a car-dependent society, increasing traffic and emissions. This makes it harder to tackle the climate emergency as well as fuelling inequality.  Therefore, we need to see the vast majority of planned roads binned and the money invested instead in more climate friendly transport solutions.

“We’re looking forward to seeing the roads review panel recommendations later this year and the decisions on which roads will still go ahead. This will show how committed the Welsh Government is to tackling climate change.”