Politicians happy to sacrifice strategies on climate change

rafichagran

MayBee70

So, how are we going to combat climate change if no one is prepared to do anything that impacts negatively on their lives?

Tell that to people who are doing minimum wage jobs who cannot afford to change their cars/vans, tell that to people these people care for the vunerable ect.
It's easy to talk if it does not affect your standard of living, or you are comfortably off.

This makes me lose the will to live!

The ULE zones are a public health initiative. We should be talking about pressing for funding to mitigate the problems for those who cannot afford either the charges or changing their vehicles to compliant ones. And about improving public transport. A responsible government would have done that as a matter of course.

Government failure to consider any mitigation and instead using opposition to their own original policy as an election ploy is despicable. They are loving the resistance...

Hope they don’t bring anything like that in here, we’d be in trouble. No public transport in most areas except the central cities and vast distances to cover. Most households have at least 2 cars, you have to if people go to work.

We live approximately 15 minutes drive outside of the new proposed ULEZ.

DH received a letter from Sadiq Kahn informing him that his car (which he loves more than me 🤣) is not compliant and if he drives into the area will be fined.

How many letters and at what cost has he sent out?

I think emission zones will expand, apart from London, Bristol and Birmingham already have them, maybe others too. Currently it affects petrol cars over 17 yrs old and diesel over 8 yrs old, small traders with diesel vans are worst affected. They will have to either get the vehicle modified or replace it and charge the extra cost on to their customers.

rafichagran

MayBee70

So, how are we going to combat climate change if no one is prepared to do anything that impacts negatively on their lives?

Tell that to people who are doing minimum wage jobs who cannot afford to change their cars/vans, tell that to people these people care for the vunerable ect.
It's easy to talk if it does not affect your standard of living, or you are comfortably off.

Well, I’m divorced and on a miniscule pension and I’m trying to do all I can. I agree that people need help to adapt, especially, eg, people who work in those areas affected by ULEF, but, when the government decided to implement it why didn’t they factor in things like this? Why are they blaming everything on Labour who haven’t been in power for 13 years. Ok, I know the current Mayor is Labour but it was started by Johnson when he was Mayor. But, hey, he was a politician who promised everything and delivered nothing. Climate change has been completely politicised and the Conservatives have realised that a bury our head in the sand and ignore it is a vote winner that’s going to be the way we’re heading. It doesn’t actually affect me: by the time things get really bad I’ll be dead but let’s think about our kids and grandchildren.

Or register their discontent at the ballot box.

Freya5

Wish we could give a thumbs up, or down on this very divisive subject. A gas guzzling car, many don't have a choice, public transport decimated in rural areas, because hey ho, cars became king. What should we do, 20 minute walk to bus stop, poor mobility. Kids can't get into nearest school, so have to be taken by car. What should we do. How many of you pontificating on here, have a gas guzzling car, to run your busi ess, carry your tools and equipment. I wonder. Kahn is like a mad man finding power at his elbow, he won't be out of work, because he can't afford to pay ulez charge will he. Too much without much thought.

You can’t have it both ways, Freya5. Either you need a “gas guzzling car” - other kinds of car are available - because you live in a rural area with poor public transport, or you live in a city which does have bus, underground, and even tram services which rural dwellers would envy. Cities can be dangerous places to live in from the point of view of air pollution, and LEZs are a way to counter that.

Glasgow also has a new LEZ and as a fairly frequent visitor I have found walking along some main streets in the zone much easier on the breathing since it was enforced.

GrannyGravy13

We live approximately 15 minutes drive outside of the new proposed ULEZ.

DH received a letter from Sadiq Kahn informing him that his car (which he loves more than me 🤣) is not compliant and if he drives into the area will be fined.

How many letters and at what cost has he sent out?

A lot I hope.

Your DH does not have to drive his 4x4 - he wants to which is a whole different thing, as that is to suggest that individual desire should top community health.

And then of course we have the idiot Sunak issuing god knows how many licences to drill for oil and gas.

We don’t need much imagination to understand what the air should be like as opposed to what it is like at the moment.

Go back 3 years to the beginning of lockdown - that is how our air should be - and that is only after a couple of weeks imagine how it would be after a year of no pollution!

DS an environmental/climate scientist is so very very angry all the time as he sees what will be out future.

Whitewavemark2

We don’t need much imagination to understand what the air should be like as opposed to what it is like at the moment.

Go back 3 years to the beginning of lockdown - that is how our air should be - and that is only after a couple of weeks imagine how it would be after a year of no pollution!

The earth started to heal itself when the world shut down for a short amount of time, didn’t it. This isn’t just about us: we’re the custodians of this planet and we’re trashing it for every other living creature that we share it with. I know it was mainly about cancer research but did you listen to the TRIP’s Leading interview with Paul Nurse, the Nobel prize winning scientist? It touched on just about everything ( but mainly about us not being included in Horizon due to Brexit…).

The damage of lockdown was incalculable. I am not sure what use it is to make comparisons with what happened during that time.

Grammaretto

Some areas are well served by public transport. I'm on a Borders Bus, which goes into Edinburgh city centre every half hour My concessionary pass means it costs me nothing.
It's a double decker and carries bikes, wheelchairs, buggies and dogs.and more than 50 passengers.
Some of the.newer buses carry 100.

Here is my view

I live quite near you and while I can get a bus or train into the city quite easily, if I want to visit my FiL in his care home in the next town, it takes me 10 minutes to drive there, as opposed to an hour or more each way by bus (I'd have to get at least two buses). We no longer have a direct bus to the main hospital either - again, it would involve getting at least two buses.

MayBee70

So, how are we going to combat climate change if no one is prepared to do anything that impacts negatively on their lives?

As rafichagran says, tell that to the people who cannot afford to change their cars because they are paid minimum wage.
I see so many inconsistencies on here. Retired people, many whom are very comfortable judging by the things they say about the brands they buy, the houses they live in, the leafy villages they live in (much talk about ‘in my village’) and always supporting the lower paid and the poor, but as soon as ULEZ is mentioned, they are firmly in the camp of I’m alright Jack, and it matters not a jot about the poor who cannot afford the ULEZ costs, nor can they afford to buy a different car. Sitting in a leafy village, unaffected by ULEZ, how easy it is to criticise others.

Yes watching the left cheer on the banks and show a disregard for those struggling is an interesting turn around.
And India, millions of people raised out of poverty, a miracle happening in front of our eyes but let's talk about how terrible they are.

Galaxy

Yes watching the left cheer on the banks and show a disregard for those struggling is an interesting turn around.
And India, millions of people raised out of poverty, a miracle happening in front of our eyes but let's talk about how terrible they are.

Great. Does that mean they’ve done away with the caste system and are no longer supporting Putin?

I think you will find many in this country supported Putin not that very long ago.
None of those things make the lifting of people out of poverty any less remarkable.

You can lose the will to live all you like Maizie but tell it to the people who live in the here and now who will not be able to do their minimum wage jobs as they cannot afford another car. Businesses that may well fold and the vunerable who need the service of carers.
You are posting what councils/Goverment should have done, but it was not, and the people in the here and now are the people who will suffer.

And none of it makes very well off people moaning about Indias emissions a good look.

rafichagran

You can lose the will to live all you like Maizie but tell it to the people who live in the here and now who will not be able to do their minimum wage jobs as they cannot afford another car. Businesses that may well fold and the vunerable who need the service of carers.
You are posting what councils/Goverment should have done, but it was not, and the people in the here and now are the people who will suffer.

Well, thank goodness we have a General Election coming up within the next 15 (?) months and people can vote for parties which have better solutions than just putting responsibility on the shoulders of those who can least afford it.

MayBee70

So, how are we going to combat climate change if no one is prepared to do anything that impacts negatively on their lives?

This.
I know ULEZ is an initiative to lower pollution, for health reasons, but it will also have a climate change effect.

We HAVE to give up some of the things that make our lives easier if we are going to reduce man-made climate change; we don't have a choice.

We are NOT doing enough in the UK; the effect will be far worse in less developed countries, and if we don't want refugees now, just imagine how many there will be in the future as climate change continues to cause mass starvation and destroying the possibility of living for so many billions of people!

For ULEZ, what needs doing is to make financial allowances for people relying on cars for their work; carers etc. Either grants to help them buy less polluting cars, or rental schemes to provide cars for them, or a reduction or omission of charges to them. ULEZ itself is good, but the effect on people on low incomes but who NEED their car to work needs to be mitigated.

In London, generally public transport seems to be good; I don't live there but my daughters do, and they never drive there. I can't see that it is necessary for people who drive by choice not to pay.

Galaxy

The damage of lockdown was incalculable. I am not sure what use it is to make comparisons with what happened during that time.

I’m talking about the climate 😄😄 not sure what you are talking about?

Yes I know but I am not sure it's useful because the other impacts of lockdown were awful and it was an artificial situation. Car use is never going to revert to that, nor would we want it to.

Honestly it was an absolute example of what will happen once we begin to mitigate against co2.

It doesn’t matter how it happened just that it did. You have no other such mitigation to point to that was such a model of what our air could be like if we took the necessary steps.

Whether lockdown was right/wrong successful or not has b…r all to do with it.

People will continue to pollute using older cars cos they have no other option if low earners.All it will do is push them even further into the red. It makes money but does nothing else.