Policy paper (Essay Sample)

International Relations & World affairs -Policy Paper- Promoting Sustainable Transportation in the UK: A Policy Proposal for Green Mobility and Reduced Carbon Emissions" Student Name Institutional Affiliations Instructor Date Promoting Sustainable Transportation in the UK: A Policy Proposal for Green Mobility and Reduced Carbon Emissions" On a global scale, the transportation sector is a very significant contributor towards greenhouse emissions and pollution and this makes it a very important driver of climate change and poor quality of the air. In the UK and elsewhere, the current system of transportation has a very heavy reliance on fossil fuels which leads to high emissions of carbon as well as degradation of the environment. It is important to heighten and hasten the promotion of sustainable practices in the transportation so as to mitigate issues of climate change. In the UK, the promotion of sustainable transportation cannot be overemphasized because first the minimization of the country’s carbon footprint is at the core of the country’s plan towards meeting climate change targets of mitigation as well as commitments to the Paris Agreement. The UK is purposed at achieving a net-zero greenhouse carbon emissions by the year 2050 ((Çelik & Yılmaz, 2023) while transforming the sector of transportation to crucially contribute towards achieving this goal. Secondly, sustainable transportation is very significant in enhancing the quality of air not just in UK but in any other urban center. Air pollution from exhausts of vehicles affects public health which contributes greatly to premature deaths, cardiovascular issues and respiratory illnesses. Through a successful transition to sustainable transportation practices, the UK is able to minimize its levels of air pollution while and carbon footprint and creating cleaner and healthier environments (Dong & Dong, 2011). The research question in this policy paper is: How can sustainable transportation practices be achieved in the UK? This paper analyzes and proposes policy options for addressing the issue of unsustainable transportation in the UK with the focus of promoting green mobility and reducing carbon emissions. The policy proposal is aimed at providing an implementation roadmap of transportation measures which are contributors to the reduction of carbon emissions while promoting green mobility. Policy Option 1: Promotion of Public Transportation Public transport is so critical in the promotion of sustainable transportation via the mitigation of congestion of traffic and minimization of emissions. An accessible, effective and efficient public system of transportation is able to encourage individuals to adopt the use of public transport instead of private vehicles bring about significant reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases. One study estimated that every single person who puts on his or her private car and adopts public transportation is able to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide by an average quantity of 4.3T per annually (Aldas et al., 2018). Improving and expanding the network of public transport is an important strategy towards promoting its usage as well as feasible mobility. This is achievable by investments in development of infrastructure such as the construction of new bus and train routes, enhancing existing routes, increasing the service frequencies. For instance, the city of London has seen an expansion of its bus network and has upgraded its system of rail routes bringing about a 90% increment in public transport trips between 2000 and 2010 (Harwatt et al., 2011). The control of bus and train fares is also a good measure towards the incentivization of people and wooing them towards adoption of public transportation. This makes public transport available and affordable as well as cost-effective as compared to the private use of vehicles. In this case, individuals are more likely to settle for public transport as their preferred mode of travel. A good example is the City of Estonia, where the introduction of free transport in the Tallinn capital saw a significant increase in the utilization of public transport. This saw a 9% reduction in car trips as well as a 14% increase in the frequency of public trips (Botte et al., 2020). Enhancing public transport accessibility is also such an important strategy which is inclusive of improvement of infrastructure for persons who have disabilities, adoption of technologies which are innovative for real-time ticketing and information systems, offering ride-and-park facilities. Such measures can make public transport a matter of convenience and attractiveness for a very if number of people which will encourage people to ditch private means and be inclined more towards public transport (Sun, 2022 and Çelik & Yılmaz, 2023). The promotion of public transportation as a sustainable option in transportation has its benefits including enhancing air quality in public spaces, combating congestion of traffic as well as reduction of carbon footprint. Policy Option 2: Investment in Electric Vehicles The world is moving from fossil fuel cars to electric vehicles. Electric vehicles have gained powerful adoption as one of the most prolific methods of shifting towards green emissions. Transitioning to electric vehicles is thus such an important move in the promotion of sustainable means of transportation (Sun, 2022). EVs have many important benefits including low greenhouse gas emissions as well as improved quality of air. As compared to the conventional internal combustion engine cars, EVs have zero tailpipe emissions leading to very substantial reduction of harmful pollutants and carbon dioxide. For instance, statistics comparing different concepts of mobility found that EVs have the capability to reduce emissions of carbon by 60% as opposed to conventional vehicles (Kolbe, 2019). In order to promote the adoption of EVs, there is need for investments to be done in the charging infrastructure. A wide and robust network of accessible charging stations is very important towards the alleviation of a certain range of anxiety which offers EV owners with convenience of charging points. The government of UK has made some significant efforts in this regard pledging £1.3 billion to install nationwide network of charging EVs (EN, 2022). Again, further investments are important towards the expansion of the charging infrastructure and more particularly in major highways, residential areas and public spaces. Studies show that 25% of electric vehicle owners in the UK have no access to off-street parking which again makes the availability of public charging stations very crucial (Castaneda, 2021). left000Again, in addition to the infrastructure, the incentivization towards adopting EVs has its exceptional role in inspiring a total paradigm shift for sustainable transportation. Incentives which are financial could include subsidies and grants which are important in helping offset higher upfront costs of EVs making them more affordable to users(Dong & Dong, 2011). The UK government has implemented a plug-in car grant which has provided £3,000 towards the acquiring and possession of Electric Vehicles (EN, 2022). The expansion and increase of attractiveness of such incentives are powerful promoters and encouragers for a greater number of persons to shift towards EVs. While this is true, there are still challenges and opportunities which are un existence in the deployment of electric vehicles. One such challenge is limited range of driving as compared to conventional vehicles. However, advances in technology are continually bringing about improvements of the range and time of charging for electric cars which continues to make them more feasible for travelling long distances. Again, the development of fast-charging infrastructure is a good move in the alleviation concerns about range anxiety permitting EV owners to charge their vehicles in a fast way in the course of long trips. Another challenge is concerned with the environmental impact of battery disposal and battery production. The batteries need the extraction of raw materials which could have social and environmental consequences (Kolbe, 2019). However there are efforts being made so as to improve the recyclability and sustainability of batteries as well as investing in the battery recycling infrastructure. Investing in EVs presents very significant opportunities for minimizing emmissions of greenhouse gases as well as enhancing air quality. Policy Option 3: Development of Cycling Infrastructure Cycling in its entirety is environmentally friendly because bicycles do not emit any harmful substances. The promotion of cycling can be adopted as a very sustainable mode of transportation offering very many benefits for both the environment and individuals. Cycling is a zero-emmissions mode of transportation that greatly brings about the reduction of greenhouse gas emmissions. In the UK, cycling only accounts for 2% of all journeys made by public with the majority of citizens still relying on private vehicles to reach their destinies (EN, 2022). Through the creation and enhancing of cycling infrastructure including dedicated lanes, the UK has the opportunity to encourage even more people to choose cycling on certain week days as a sustainable means of transportation. The investment in a culture of cycling and also into the cycling infrastructure helps to bring this option into a sharp focus. Investing in the infrastructure includes dedicated paths and lanes which are very important in making sure that there is convenience and safety for cyclists. Studies are congruent that the presence of infrastructure which is dedicated for cyclists is able to bring about a reduction in the number of accidents which involve cyclists while increasing the rate of cycling ((Dong & Dong, 2011). For instance Copenhagen in Denmark has been widely known f...