COP and climate change - are we doing enough?

Published: 06:00, 10 November 2022

Sponsored feature | By Ian Sandison, CEO of Cambridge BID

Ian Sandison, CEO of Cambridge BID. Picture: Richard Marsham

As the COP delegates arrive in Egypt, largely by plane, we hope to see some detail of what will be agreed, and it is important to reflect that many businesses are doing a huge amount already to reduce their carbon footprint and contribute to limiting the effects of climate change.

What is required, though, are fairly simple messages and calls to action so smaller and often less resourced and time-poor businesses are able to get involved by way of a simple ‘how to’ guide or a toolkit that guides their actions in a practical and achievable way.

One way we can all contribute is by walking and cycling more - living in the city this is easy for me. However, most people who work in the city do not have this luxury.

Even with the recently announced rise in the minimum wage and the real living wage, workers in the retail, hospitality and leisure industries are towards the lower end of the pay scale, they often cannot afford to live in our beautiful city, they spend too long each day commuting, usually by car, since their home is poorly served by an inefficient and unavailable, at the right times, public transport system. If the Combined Authority had not moved swiftly in October then there would be 18 fewer bus routes running after Stagecoach cancelled them.

We would all like to have less congestion and cleaner air, although this will also push up house prices in the zone and make the city more unaffordable. Currently Greater Cambridge Partnership is consulting on this, it is promising £50m for more buses, £1 bus fees and a wider network. It is proving a hard nut to crack but these issues often are.

Could I reduce my car usage? Given five years to plan could I make alternative travel arrangements in the city? I think the answer to these questions is yes.

A builder doing some work on my house last week said he would not work in the city with the congestion charge. I told him: “I think you will find with less traffic and a charge you can pass on to your customers, you will want to work here more.”