Greener Transport

We have investigated how transport in the East contributes to overall carbon emissions and identified a path to reach the Government’s policy target of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Our Decarbonisation Report finds:

• Transport caused 42% of carbon emissions across the region in 2018. This is two thirds more than the national average of 28% of emissions from transport.
• 96% of our transport emissions are  from road vehicles.
•  Other high sources of carbon include industrial activity (30%) and homes (27%).

People commuting is the biggest source of road transport emissions in the region. Our role as a UK gateway through our ports and airports means freight is also an important area to tackle.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed people’s travel patterns, but this is unlikely to have a long-term effect on the region’s carbon emissions.

The report set out short, medium, and long-term actions for how we can reduce carbon emissions on our transport network including:

• More investment in public transport, walking and cycling to make it easier for people to drive less.
• A plan to transition from diesel and petrol to cleaner fuels, including electric vehicles.
• Developing a clean energy cluster combining energy, transport, technology and R&D to reduce carbon emissions from transport in the East long-term.

This evidence has informed our Transport Strategy, where net zero transport is a main priority and welcome conversations on this issue.