{"id":96470,"date":"2021-07-20T08:59:28","date_gmt":"2021-07-20T07:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=96470"},"modified":"2021-07-20T08:59:28","modified_gmt":"2021-07-20T07:59:28","slug":"highways-england-net-zero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/energy-news\/highways-england-net-zero\/96470\/","title":{"rendered":"Highways England unveils plans to target net zero by 2050"},"content":{"rendered":"

Highways England<\/a> has revealed\u202fambitious\u202fplans to rapidly cut carbon from\u202froad construction, maintenance and operations, and\u00a0support the\u00a0transition to zero emission vehicles<\/h2>\n

Highways England will take immediate action towards decarbonising<\/a>\u202fEngland\u2019s motorways and A-roads.<\/p>\n

The plan\u00a0sets\u00a0out a comprehensive\u00a0roadmap\u202fto rapidly decarbonise\u202fthe strategic road network (SRN).<\/p>\n

The Government company proposes to achieve this\u202fby\u202fputting roads at the heart of Britain\u2019s net zero future through three key commitments \u2013 achieving net zero for its own operations by 2030, delivering net zero road maintenance\u00a0and construction\u00a0by 2040 and supporting net zero carbon travel on our roads by 2050.<\/p>\n

Contractors and suppliers will also be required to\u202fact,\u202fincluding commitments to reduce carbon year-on-year\u202fby\u202fusing the latest technologies,\u00a0so that by 2040 road maintenance and construction is near zero emissions.<\/p>\n

\u2018Putting roads at the heart of net zero\u2019<\/h3>\n

Nick Harris, acting chief executive\u202fof Highways England, said: \u201cHighways England recognises the threat of climate change<\/a> and the risks it poses for us\u202fall. That\u2019s why we\u2019re pledging to take effective action\u202fto take carbon out of roads.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday roads are a convenient, efficient and low-cost way to travel which is why 9 out of 10 passenger miles and 79% of all freight moves on roads.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur plans set out how emissions from our own operations, our construction and our customers will reduce over the coming years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will put roads at the heart of the low carbon economy, while preserving the convenience and economic benefit of an efficient road network.\u201d<\/p>\n

Highways England will\u202fgenerate more electricity from renewables, work with its supply chain to transition to net zero construction and support low carbon travel.<\/p>\n

Transport minister Rachel Maclean, commented: \u201cWe know that transport is the biggest emitter of carbon emissions, which is why I\u2019m pleased to see that Highways England are setting out a roadmap which will clean up our air as we Build Back Greener.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis comes just days after the government unveiled its Transport Decarbonisation Plan, setting out our plans to reach net zero emissions by 2050.\u201d<\/p>\n

Key points:<\/h3>\n