We were delighted to welcome back Bernadette Kelly CB, Permanent Secretary to the Department of Transport, for her first physical engagement since the relaxation of lockdown. Bernadette discussed the challenges the UK faces in transport to achieve its Net Zero goals, first contextualising where the department currently is in its three primary strategic goals: Emergency Covid-19 response, Brexit and operational readiness. On the Net Zero challenge, Bernadette noted that the Prime Minister’s 10 point plan for a green industrial revolution included three transport goals: accelerating shift to zero emission vehicles, green public transport, walking and cycling and green shipping. She suggested that in the forthcoming transport decarbonisation plan there will be a much more detailed programme of policies and activities, which is crucial given that transport is now the biggest source of domestic emissions (27%). The good news, Bernadette informed us, is that there is a huge amount of promising technology in the sector, which means we can have some optimism about our ability to dramatically reduce those emissions between now and 2050.

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