Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

What do we
need to change?
Transport
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overall gateway jobs would range between 96,000 and 108,000 by 2030.
Under all possible scenarios, the region must ensure that it acts to
optimise the economic benefits of gateway development.
The local, regional and national economic benefits arising from the
expansion of our gateways will need to be balanced against the global
and local environmental impacts of such development. At international
level, this strategy strongly supports the proposed inclusion of aviation
into the EU emissions trading scheme. In national policy terms, the RES
advocates an element of tax revenues from gateway expansion being
hypothecated to local and regional level to manage impacts and help
finance regional strategic infrastructure.
The mitigation of local environmental impacts from gateway expansion
should be addressed by the implementation of sustainable surface access
plans and low-carbon development packages, incorporating significant
use of rail and other public transport. In order to achieve this, international
gateways in the East of England must be national exemplars of sustainable
development – characterised by flourishing and internationally focused
businesses, high and growing employment, increased productivity, with
low-carbon footprints.
Priority 4:
Reducing the environmental impact of moving goods and people
Transport is the fastest-growing contributor to carbon emissions, and the
East of England has one of the highest household car ownership rates and
percentage of workforce travelling to work by car of all English regions.
Given our vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, it is in our own
interests to be an exemplar region and to act to reduce the environmental
footprint of the transport system and increase network resilience to future
climate change impacts.
The region faces an enormous challenge in reducing the impact from
transport on climate change. The East of England is a unique polycentric
region. With its mix of rapidly growing urban areas, expanding transport
gateways, sparsely populated rural areas and proximity to London, it is a
challenging environment for the development of a sustainable transport
system that meets both economic growth and carbon reduction targets.
Solutions will need to reflect this context.
The region’s academic and private research institutes provide the
expertise to put the region at the forefront of innovation to reduce the
environmental impacts of travel, including the use of technology
enhancements and alternative fuels. Some of the most promising
technologies to bring about greener modes of transport are in early
stages of development or are untested, and will need investment to
ensure they can be successfully adopted.