June 2020 Online strike
Air Pollution
"we simply cannot go “back to normal” on the other side, traffic is responsible for 40% of the UKs emissions, and must be cut back. Individuals and families need to walk and cycle, only using motorised transport when absolutely necessary. Businesses need to make commutes shorter and less frequent and use their knowledge and wealth to reform transport. Government needs to put money where necessary to make walking and cycling more accessible, for example they should increase funding to at least £6 billion over the next 5 years to double cycling and increase walking by 2025, and they need to implement WHO clean air standards to keep the country breathable."
-Our press release
WRITE TO YOUR MP FOR MORE CYCLING AND WALKING - STOP AIR POLLUTION - STOP CLIMATE CHANGE
Personalise this draft letter below and email your MP via this link:
Dear {Your MP's name},
​
I live in your constituency and I am a Cambridge Youth Striker / Parent(/Guardian) of a Cambridge Youth Striker/ supporter of the Cambridge Youth Strikers 4 Climate. I am writing to alert you to one serious cause of climate change in the UK, traffic.
Transport is responsible for 40% of our emissions, making it the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Not only is it destroying the world we as the next generation are about to inherit, but it is making our air right now dirty and harder to breath in. Fundamentally, we need people to stop using road transport as much.
The more people that swap car journeys for foot and bike, the better the outcomes will be both for our planet and our generation. But for these efforts to really work, the national government needs to ensure local authorities have sufficient funding to make walking and cycling safe, easy and accessible to all - and that ambitious policies are brought in as soon as possible to keep us walking and cycling long term.
Please write to the transport minister Grant Shapps on my behalf, and urge him to:
- Ensure councils have immediate access to funds needed to implement temporary cycling and walking infrastructure, and to increase access to bikes and cycle training
- Increase funding to at least £6 billion over the next 5 years to double cycling and increase walking by 2025
- Rethink the £27bn roads programme and redirect funds to local clean transport measures
- Adjust the default speed limit in built up areas to 20mph
- Clean up our air by setting WHO clean air targets in law and mandating and funding local authorities to create clean air zones
I look forward to your reply.
Best wishes,
{Your name}