Are there better ways to travel around Jersey?
When we talk about emissions from transport on the Island we are mainly talking about cars, vans and buses. This includes both personal travel, travel for work and moving things around the island.
If you’re ready to share your thoughts on how you think we could travel better around the island you can join the conversation if you’d like to know more read on.
Motorised vehicles that burn petrol or diesel in their engines generate greenhouse gas emissions as they operate. Electric vehicles without petrol or diesel engines do not generate greenhouse gas emissions as they drive, but we do need to think about how the electricity that they use is made and any greenhouse gas emissions from that.
Planes and boats travelling into and out of Jersey also generate greenhouse gas emissions, and we should all the carbon impact of the decisions we make about how frequently, and for what reasons, we travel off island.
Transport accounted for 44.2% of the island’s emissions in 20181. As a sector it makes the largest contribution to our greenhouse gas emissions and is therefore key to the success of our carbon reduction ambition.
What do we need to do?
To help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from on-Island transport thinking about ways you could travel less and how you could switch the journey’s you do make to zero or lower carbon methods of transport is a good place to start. This could mean working from home one day a week.
Active travel, such as walking or cycling, are the best solutions as they don’t result in any greenhouse gas emissions – and the added bonus is they keep us active and healthy. Public transport, such as buses have a low carbon footprint per passenger as they are moving lots of people around. They also result in fewer vehicles on the roads, helping with traffic jams, something we all know lots about here in Jersey.
Electric vehicles still contribute to road congestion in the same way as petrol and diesel cars, but they do have a low carbon footprint.
Reducing our reliance on private cars and encouraging active travel can improve local air quality and people’s health and help to create better places to live in.
We also need to think about how often and where we travel off-Island for work and for our holidays (when we’re allowed to travel again!).
What can you do to help?
A good place to start is to try to switch one car journey a week to an active form of travel such as walking or cycling. Also, if you can, trying to switch your regular journeys, such as the commute to work or school by bus or as a lift share with a colleague.
If you are thinking about buying a new car, then consider the fuel efficiency of the vehicle you are buying – why not ask the dealer if you can test drive an electric car to see if it would work for you. For larger, commercial vehicles where an electric alternative isn’t yet available you could consider switching to green diesel.