‘The number of motor vehicles on our streets simply needs to decrease dramatically’

• I HAVE been reading the letters sent by Tribune readers on the LTN trials in Highbury and, as a climate change professional, cannot help but feel that some key points haven’t been sufficiently stressed yet.

Residents are right to highlight the undeniable and all-important health and wellbeing benefits of the schemes.

Research also shows that LTNs can boost businesses; walking and cycling improvements can increase retail spend by up to 30 per cent. But there is so much more at stake.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change global temperature rise needs to be kept under +1.5°C above pre-industrial levels to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of the change, environmental, social, and economic.

Right now, we are on a pathway to +3 or 4°C. And our window for action is closing fast.

Cities, including London, account for more than 70 per cent of carbon emissions globally. Transportation is the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gases and road travel accounts for three-quarters of transport emissions.

The number of motor vehicles on our streets simply needs to decrease dramatically if we want to have a chance of tackling this crisis.

LTNs are one of the tools that are being used by city governments, in the UK and beyond, to encourage timely behaviour change and work towards a climate safe future.

The Highbury LTNs might make driving less convenient for the minority of people who own cars in the area, but that’s exactly the point.

Making a small effort now – which for many will come as long overdue relief – will ensure we do not have to make much tougher sacrifices in the future, on a much bigger scale.

PAMELA JOUVEN, N5