Urban Transport Group report shows how cities can address the climate crisis

City regions in the UK and beyond have the opportunity to address the escalating climate crisis whilst creating healthier and more liveable cities, by making connections between the transport, energy and built environment sectors, according to a report from the Urban Transport Group, the network of city region transport authorities in the UK.

It showcases projects that not only either reduce carbon emissions or improve climate resilience, but also deliver wider benefits including:

• Lower energy, operating and maintenance costs of transport infrastructure
• Job creation and good growth
• Making cities more attractive places to live, work, visit, spend time and invest in
• Improved air quality
• Higher satisfaction among employees and customers of transport systems.

Projects include hydro-powered transport interchanges, homes heated by waste heat from underground rail, green bus depots and urban pocket parks.

The report aims to provide decision makers with a series of practical interventions they can make on a case-by-case basis. The report also profiles how cities can go further by making these connections in a systematic and strategic way – using Nottingham and Munich as key case studies.

The case studies highlight the way in which municipal ownership of public transport and utilities has enabled city authorities to be bolder in pursuit of de-carbonisation and other wider public policy goals with, for example, both cities increasingly powering their public transport through renewable energy provided by their own energy companies.

Stephen Edwards, Chair of the Urban Transport Group and Executive Director of South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, said: “The scale and urgency of the climate crisis we are facing, and the actions it requires, can often seem overwhelming.

“This report seeks to give professionals in city region transport authorities a sense of agency, and source of inspiration, on practical measures that can be taken to join the dots between transport projects, energy efficiency and adaptation to a changing climate. It also points the way to how cities can scale up on the connections they can make to deliver more comprehensive climate wins for cities.”