Banning fossil fuelled cars isn't enough; we have to rethink our transportation system

The UK and France have banned the sale of gas and diesel powered cars by 2040, but it is too little, too late.

Last month the French Government announced a ban on Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) powered cars by 2040. Recently the British government followed suit.

2040 is a long way away, but a UK government spokesperson said “poor air quality is the biggest environmental risk to public health in the UK and this government is determined to take strong action in the shortest time possible.” According to the Guardian, it’s estimated that “outdoor pollution, much of it from vehicles, causes 40,000 deaths a year in the UK.” But that number is disputed, even by organizations such as Greenpeace who note:

…while a car crash can be said to be the exclusive cause of an individual’s death, nobody is dying purely as a result of air pollution. It could well have had a significant impact on somebody who died from heart disease, but it’s likely that other factors, such as diet or exercise, played a part too.

This is an important distinction. These French and British moves are encouraging, as is the wildly enthusiastic reception to the launch of the Tesla Model 3. But does a ban on ICE powered cars really make that much of a difference? Does it go far enough, fast enough? Is the pollution from cars their biggest problem? 

Read Lloyd Alter’s Treehugger story - “Banning fossil fuelled cars isn't enough; we have to rethink our transportation system."

World leaders strongly support UN Paris climate conference

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he attacks in Paris are affecting crucial climate change talks in the French capital starting later this month, but more than 120 world leaders strongly support the conference and have confirmed they will attend, a senior U.N. official said Friday.

Janos Pasztor, the U.N. assistant secretary-general for climate change, told a news conference that preparations and some activities are affected, including a huge march on Nov. 29 by supporters of an agreement to reduce carbon emissions that has been cancelled by the French government.

However, Pasztor said dozens of leaders still plan to attend.

"They think this is an important event," he said. "So they are putting their travel plans where their mouth is and they will be there to support the climate negotiations."

Pasztor expressed hope that leaders will still heed the voices of the supporters who will now be holding marches in over 2,000 cities and towns around the world during the weekend of Nov. 29

Read The Detroit News story - “UN official: Over 120 leaders to attend Paris climate summit.”

Obama will be in Paris - 'COP21 must be held'

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he day after a deadly attack in Paris killed more than 120 people, a senior French diplomatic source told Reuters that the “French government plans to go ahead with a climate change summit” the country is hosting at the end of the month.

Paris climate talks
- "COP21 must be held".

The source told Reuters, when asked whether the high-profile meeting could be put off, the venue changed or cancelled, “that is in no way under consideration,” but added that security could be boosted.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the climate conference would go ahead as planned. “COP21 must be held,” he said.

Read the EcoWatch story - “Paris Climate Talks Will Not Be Cancelled, Obama Will Attend.”

Power of the people needed to address climate change

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he French Government conducting the tests must have known it could not win against such a show of people power.

So a few minutes before midnight on 10 July 1985, French secret service agents struck in Auckland harbour, New Zealand. They bombed and sank the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior, one of the ships that was due to lead the flotilla into the nuclear test zone. The French agents murdered Fernando Pereira, a photographer and crew member.

Read the EcoWatch story about people power - “People Power Needed Now More Than Ever”.