“We now have a once in a generation opportunity to re-think how we put the economy back together again.”
.
If we are going to ‘build back better’, we need to be building back ‘greener’:
Build back better: build back greener – Vision Group for Sidmouth
.
We have a ‘once in a generation opportunity to put the economy back together but in a more environmentally friendly way’ – as considered in this evening’s ‘In Business’ on Radio 4:
BBC Radio 4 – In Business, Building Back Better
.
Some say that we need considerable government investment to ‘build back better’. Brian O’Callaghan from Oxford University says it can’t be ‘business as usual’:
Brian O’Callaghan | Green Growth Knowledge Platform
BBC World News: Green recovery – YouTube
The five key policies where economics and environment meet – Euradio
green stimulus | Work and Climate Change Report
.
And there are specific areas we can focus on
.
Cycling and cycle lanes:
£1 of money spent on cycle lanes gets £13 spent on high street shops:
Getting more people walking and cycling could help save our high streets – Transport for London
Common myths about investment in walking and cycling busted by research report – Sustrans.org.uk
Cargo bikes can carry a lot of stuff with less pedal power:
Should Sidmouth have its own e-trike service? Press reports – Vision Group for Sidmouth
How e-cargo bikes can deliver change | Features | BikeBiz
Local Government Association report urges business “trade vans for cargo bikes”
To achieve reduced carbon emissions – and to stimulated retail and construction activity – investment in such infrastructure and technologies could really help. And using e-bikes would help us keep fit:
E-bikes and cardio: everything you need to know about staying fit on an e-bike | TechRadar
Especially in those times:
The Increase In Ebike Adoption May Be The Silver Lining Of The Pandemic
And that includes in the Sid Valley:
Investing in better cycling routes – Vision Group for Sidmouth
.
Infrastructure:
But it doesn’t have to be about pouring concrete everywhere – which is responsible for 8% of carbon emissions:
Futures Forum: Climate change: and concrete: “the massive CO2 emitter”
And there are alternatives:
New Developments: Environmentally Friendly Concrete
Greening the concrete jungle: how to make environmentally friendly cement
Rather than building something new – we can retrofit:
The chancellor promised £2bn to home improvements when it comes to energy:
We need some new technologies – for example:
We create new value from waste CO2 for the plastics industry. We provide new ways to help polyol manufacturers make products using our novel catalyst technologies. Ways that cost less – financially and environmentally. Ways that deliver more. Better products with endless potential.
.
Investment:
Climate risk is a business risk: climate change puts the economy into peril – as the world’s largest private investor is saying:
our-commitment-to-sustainability-exec-summary-en.pdf
But can we really square the circle?
“There is no such thing as green growth” – Vision Group for Sidmouth