Blaenau Gwent Net Zero Transport

Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council declared a climate emergency and adopted a Decarbonisation Plan in September 2020\. In March 2021, Blaenau Gwent held one of the first climate assemblies in Wales. It brought together 44 people from Blaenau Gwent to address the question: 'What should we do in Blaenau Gwent to tackle the climate crisis in a way that is fair and improves living standards for everyone'. Over five days assembly members heard expert evidence and developed five recommendations, with transport emerging as one of the most important themes.

Our project will focus on transport and the non-technical barriers to Net Zero. Blaenau Gwent currently suffers from the twin challenge of high car dependency (proportion of car journeys being well above national average) and at the same time low car ownership (well below national average). Transport plays a significant role in the pathway to carbon neutrality; in Wales it is estimated that Road Transport accounts for 18.7% of total emissions. Direct transport emissions accounted for 9% of total Council emissions in 2018/19 with a further 1% attributed to commissioned transport.

Through this project we will explore barriers to the integration of the transport system and what prevents the transition to Net Zero. With significant car dependence and low car ownership as highlighted by the assembly members a transition will need to look at all areas of the transport system.

Senior level support and commitment from the Council are in place for the Net Zero Innovation and Delivery Officer role and this project. Senior leadership and support around decarbonisation have been in place since starting on the journey to prepare the Decarbonisation plan. Decarbonisation activity is overseen at the Chief Executive level of the Council. If successful in securing funding through Fast Followers, the Council will create a new role of Net Zero Innovation and Delivery Officer and deliver a project to address the non-technical barriers associated with our transport transition.

We will develop a behaviour change approach based upon the principles of ISM (standing for 'Individual, Social, Material). Using ISM, we will bring stakeholders together to develop a shared behavioural challenge around transport and work together to map the factors influencing behaviour. By doing this, stakeholders will develop a shared understanding of the behaviour and identify their respective roles in bringing about change.

At the end of the project we hope to have ensured that no-one is left behind.