Transport and the environment
The Department for Transport takes action to ensure that all modes of transport contribute to sustainable economic growth, cut transport’s greenhouse gas emissions, improve quality of life, and protect the natural environment.
What is the Department doing?
Examples of the Department’s environmental actions include:
- Working to reduce transport’s greenhouse gas emissions, for example, through promoting the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles
- adding an objective to protect the built and natural environment when conducting transport studies – WebTAG environment objectives
- including environmental design, assessment and operation of the strategic road network as part of the design manual for roads and bridges
- improving the environmental performance of roads
- working closely with Network Rail on environmental and community rail issues
- encouraging sustainable local transport by making public transport, cycling and walking more attractive
- ensuring that the UK’s shipping, ports and waterways are operated in an efficient, safe, secure and sustainable manner
- creating a sustainable framework for aviation in the UK
What is the Government doing?
Climate change
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is the Government department that drives action both domestically and internationally on climate change, ensuring the UK meets its carbon budgets efficiently and effectively.
The Department supports the delivery of the UK’s carbon budgets by promoting action to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from transport. Full details of transports carbon reduction actions can be found on pages 47 to 57 of the Government’s carbon plan.
Natural environment
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the Government department that leads on natural environment issues and sustainable development considerations.
The Department supports Defra in taking positive action on transport-related environmental issues. For example, measures to improve air quality, examining exemptions around light pollution at some transport facilities, and exploring how to better manage the green areas at the edge of roads and railways to enhance their benefit for wildlife.
The Department also contributes towards the delivery of the Greening Government Commitments, and the national sustainable development indicators.
