(Photo by caribb on Flickr)
Geoff Hoon, the head of England’s Department of Transport, took the floor of the House of Commons to speak about new transportation initiatives last week. Mr. Hoon’s announced the government’s intent to spend 250 million pounds to promote the use of ultra-low carbon vehicles in Great Britain. Hoon did not provide details about the mechanisms for delivering these incentives. This funding would supplement an existing 100-million pound program that is developing and demonstrating clean vehicles throughout the country.
After the announcement was made, Mr. Hoon proceeded to announce the department’s intention to proceed with a third runway at Heathrow Airport. The country has been thrust into a debate recently about the land-management issues, emissions and noise pollution that would arise with another runway. Hoon also noted that the country’s most congested roads would be widened with six billion pounds in national funding. The Department of Transport decided to proceed with a more conservative version of an earlier expansion plan to balance economic concerns with a desire to reduce traffic accidents.
Before lambasting Mr. Hoon for using the smoke screen of low-carbon cars, we should look at concurrent announcements from the Department of Transport to see the uncertain status for clean transportation in Great Britain. Hoon has been pushing for the creation of High Speed 2, a publicly owned corporation that would oversee high speed rail lines between Scotland and England. High Speed 2 would start with a high speed line from West Midlands to London, eliminating congestion and vehicle emissions from British streets. Another Transport initiate would electrify a duo of British rail lines, the Great Western and the Midland Mainline, that represent heavily traveled routes through England.
The rows over Hoon’s announcement about Heathrow and roadway widening expose an important tension between current transportation structures and alternative fuel options. While the Department of Transport wants to limit emissions for traffic on the new runway, Geoff Hoon and the House of Commons can only do so much before appealing to other nations about airline emissions standards. The bigger issue for green vehicle advocates in Great Britain is that consumer incentives for low-carbon cars and trucks pale in comparison to roadway expansion funds. Hoon’s efforts to mix the Heathrow and roadway announcements with greener news show that England’s leaders are masters of green washing rather than advocates for earnest research and development.
