Travel behaviours are the key to Engineering Net Zero

We need behavioural and technological change across all sectors to achieve the recommended ‘Balanced Pathway’ of decarbonisation and meet Net Zero objectives by 2050. By Tony Meehan, Practice Director, Transport Consultancy, Atkins

Tony Meehan

19 February 2021

Whilst technology has a significant role in rapid decarbonisation, the level of change that it can achieve alone isn’t sufficient given the scale of the challenge we face

In early December, the UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC) published their Sixth Carbon Budget report. The CCC recommended a UK carbon budget for 2033 to 2037 and a decarbonisation pathway leading the UK to achieve Net Zero by 2050 and make a fair contribution to meeting the Paris Agreement temperature objectives.

The Paris Agreement aims to limit temperature growth to well below 2 degrees above preindustrial times. Once average global temperature increases exceed 1.5 degrees, modelling...