Promoting green growth does not make you an ‘eco-nutter’. It’s the only way forward

Heading off the environmental crisis and growing the economy are not at odds. They are two sides of a coin – as our politicians should realise

If you care about the world we are handing on to future generations, the news on Thursday morning was dramatic. This January was the warmest on record; temperatures in 18 of the past 19 months have exceeded pre-industrial averages by 1.5C. There can be no comfort that the epoch-changing climate crisis is 20 or even 10 years away. It is already upon us.

Temperatures should have been moderated this winter by cooler air over the Pacific; it did not happen. Scientists are bewildered and scared. James Hansen, doyen of climate crisis research, believes that, unless this pace of deterioration is reversed, warm ocean waters flowing from the southern to the northern hemisphere will be trapped as vast sea currents cease. Sea levels will rise to impose a civilisational threat. It is a global imperative to dial down the rate of carbon emissions.

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The car made pedestrians second-class citizens. Don’t let driverless vehicles push us off the road altogether | Adam Tranter

If we want autonomous tech to succeed it must be designed to share space with us, rather than forcing us to adapt to it Adam Tranter is the co-host of the Streets Ahead podcast. He was formerly West Midlands cycling and walking commissioner under mayor Andy Street This week, the UK government announced its plans to fast-track driverless vehicle trials in the UK. One of the key companies involved noted that London presents a significant challenge: “It has seven times more jaywalkers than San Francisco.” There’s more than one problem with that statement – and it encapsulates so much of what’s already going wrong in the adoption of driverless cars. For a start, “jaywalking” isn’t even a thing in the UK. We thankfully have no such concept or offence. Unlike in many US cities, pedestrians here are free to cross the road wherever they see fit. And thank goodness for that. Adam Tranter is the co-host of the Streets Ahead podcast. He was formerly West Midlands cycling and walking co...

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