7 December 2011
Infrastructure Investment Plan -- Letter to The Herald
As submitted on 6 December:
Dear Sir
Most people would agree that a high-speed rail link could help reduce the unsustainable numbers of flights taken between Scotland and London (“Scottish Government to build high-speed rail link, 6 October). But the Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan reads like a plan to tarmac Scotland rather than one that will deliver the more urgent investment needed to cut carbon emissions and create a genuinely sustainable and socially just economy.
The Investment Plan mentions Low Carbon Transport but provides no costed figures. These measures are described -- and costed in detail -- in the Scottish Government’s own plan to meet its climate targets, the ‘Report on Proposals and Policies’. Yet this information is worryingly absent from the Plan. With his Ministerial colleague Stewart Stevenson currently in Durban at the world climate summit, one can only hope that Alex Neil will flesh these out upon his return.
Instead of focussing on reducing emissions, the Plan sets out a £6 billion road-building programme. This would be the largest since the Thatcher Government of the 1980s, sucking investment away from much needed sustainable measures such as public transport, walking and cycling. While the plans for investing in the Scottish rail network are commendable, it’s unfortunate that many of these are not scheduled to commence until after the A9 dualling project. While there may be a case for enhancements on certain sections of the A9 to improve safety, the key intervention that Scottish Ministers could deliver swiftly would be the installation of average speed cameras along its entire length. These have a proven track record of reducing accidents on once notorious stretches of roads such as the A77.
While a long-term investment plan for transport is necessary, we are not persuaded that this plan, nor the Government’s current spending priorities, will deliver on our legal commitments to reduce carbon emissions. In the Budget debates over the next two months, Scottish Ministers must give far higher priority to the local, small-scale infrastructure investment that can not only reduce emissions but support the Scottish economy.
Yours faithfully,
Stan Blackley, Chief Executive, Friends of the Earth Scotland
John Lauder, Director, Sustrans Scotland
Colin Howden, Director, Transform Scotland
Richard Dixon, Director, WWF Scotland