Transport
Mobility is a central part of modern life. People are entitled to access to work, services and leisure and a mobile society is a good thing. However, the way we achieve this mobility has some serious drawbacks. In particular, our dependence on individual car driving raises some serious concerns:
Transport, and in particular car driving, has a number of negative environmental impacts.
- Transport is a major contributor of CO2 emissions and in Ireland, emissions from transport are growing at a faster rate than any other sector.
- Transport fuels such as petrol or diesel are expensive imports, accompanied by their own environmental impacts in extraction, refining and shipping. Added to this are concerns associated with the depletion of scarce natural resources. The fuels used in transport are not renewable, and supplies will eventually run out.
- Air pollution from busy roads can be very significant, causing serious health damage, making towns and cities unpleasant, harming wildlife and damaging buildings.
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