🌻What have I learnt, so far?
Do the stories I have published provide me with the answers I need?
I need to start with a reminder about my background.
I am not an urban planner. I’m not a climate scientist or a transport strategist. I’m a storyteller—curious by nature and stubbornly optimistic by choice. I’ve spent over forty years working in and around Britain’s public realm, trying to make it stronger, fairer, more humane. So this blog isn’t the product of expertise. It’s the result of a question.
How do I live my best life in the world’s greatest city during this climate emergency?
I began writing to find practical, evidence-based answers. Not slogans, not hashtags. Real solutions. Some of them may require legal reform, shifts in tax policy, or just changes in how we live, day to day. This blog, in that sense, is a kind of open notebook. A public thinking-aloud.
What could and should be done?
After eighty articles, I’m not yet wise. But I’m getting clearer about what I don’t know and why that matters. That, I think, is a form of progress.
A warmer world, closer to home
This all began for me with the climate crisis. We understand the basics of climate change. It is a long-term shift in Earth’s average temperature and weather. The rapid changes we face are human-made - mostly thanks to our love affair with fossil fuels. Burning coal, oil, and gas releases greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide, which traps heat like a thickening duvet around the planet.
The consequences are no longer theoretical.
These new weather patterns are being felt around the world including in the UK. In 2019, the same year then-Prime Minister Theresa May enshrined a legal commitment to net zero emissions in the UK by 2050, climate change closed Hammersmith Bridge.
Globally, there’s been meaningful progress addressing the climate threat. Two decades ago, we were heading for four degrees of warming by 2100. Today, projections suggest 2.7°C—possibly 2.1°C if current pledges hold. Better. But not good enough.
Still, climate change remains hard to grasp. Our food bills and insurance premiums are rising by hundreds of pounds a year. We barely notice this whilst being up in arms over similar amount not paid to pensioners to cover winter payments. Richmond council helped with a series of striking descriptions of life in the borough in 2041.
We face hotter, drier summers with warmer, wetter winters and more extreme weather.
The climate itself will have changed, and we’ll be feeling it year by year. Life will change for us. By 2043, if the council has its way, most of the borough’s c85,000 homes will have undergone retrofitting, potentially including rooftop solar panels or home insulation upgrades. The borough, the self-styled ‘cargo bike capital of London’, would have significantly quieter roads, better for delivery drivers, residents, and essential services alike.
Of course not everyone is persuaded about climate change.
I’ve recently met a few sceptics and one outright denier. Those conversations were difficult. Not because I wanted to ‘win’ the argument, but because they tested the clarity of my own ideas. I need to have a better grip on the answers. I found this podcast a useful start especially when dealing with the what aboutery of China. There’ll be more on rebutting the skeptics in the months ahead.
Addressing Net Zero: necessary but not sufficient
Climate is the organising theme of this blog. But it’s never been the only one.
Like most who’ve worked in public service, I care deeply about the common good. I want healthier neighbours, more affordable homes and better educated children.
When I argued to keep Hammersmith Bridge car-free, I didn’t do so purely on environmental grounds. I offered five reasons including climate change. They were place; improving health; using the geography; embracing change.
I am not expecting every decision to meet all these demands. I am expecting the portfolio of proposals as a whole to address them.
The challenge now is to do all of this and address climate change.
What has been happening in London and locally?
It is possible to relate the changes in London with the global progress in reducing the temperature increase. Two examples.
Lowering speed limits to 20mph has worked. Inner London is one of best cities in world to walk. Both help sense of place. And whilst cycling is good - look at what is happening in the City of London - encouraging walking remains our most effective tool for reshaping the city. Far more people can walk than cycle. And that matters.
(Incidentally the stories told by one of the country's leading campaigners for walking make this podcast well worth listening. I did not know how close we came in the late 1960s to having London, including the historic centre, dominated with American-style motorways.)
Much of this progress stems from leadership by government all levels national, regional and local. In London the Mayor’s Transport Strategy, launched in 2018 and updated in 2022, wanted many more people are walking, cycling, and using public transport. The headline ambition is a shift from 63% using sustainable transport in 2018 to 80% in 2041. Richmond council have a related target to grow from 61% to 75%.
Private cars - more prevalent in the outer boroughs like Richmond - are being targeted by this strategy. Sir Sadiq Khan wants a 27% reduction in vehicle kilometres by 2031.
And yet, London’s sustainable transport goals remain elusive. The level of sustainable travel is stuck. In 2015 63.2% of all trips were made using walking, cycling or public transport. In 2023 it was still 63.2%
Despite this lack of progress, the Mayor rejected the one proposal which could deliver on his ambition - pay-per-mile road charging. This is going to happen if only because the UK Government needs to replace fuel tax in its revenue mix as EVs come to dominate the UK car fleet. Perhaps next time that Mayor will seize the opportunity?
The biggest decision in Barnes and Mortlake this year is going to affect so many aspects of life in the area, including transport. The Stag Brewery redevelopment has been given the go ahead. There’s so much detail still to be resolved yet but the headlines are clear. £1.3billion buys you a new neighbourhood with 1,068 new homes, a second secondary school for 1,200 children along with shops, offices and nine acres of green space.
Much of the civic energy opposing or engaging with the plan came via the Mortlake Brewery Campaign Group. (Full disclosure I donated money to them). MBCG are an example of a thriving civic society in Barnes and Mortlake. Mortlake Mash Up held its inaugural meeting in March and are due to report back in July. They have such an important role to play in shaping this latest version of Mortlake. History runs deep in this area. The brewery has been there over 500 years. Will the new Stag Brewery Development still be standing in 2525?
Barnes Ponder had another town meeting to report on progress. In the Autumn, I hope do more on some of their initiatives. It was pleasing to hear there are so many. I was struck by the range in scale of projects. There was something heartening to hear about bids being made for £4m plus for The View at Barnes Bridge followed by a discussion about a community resource that required a £4 pot of paint.
Walk around Barnes regularly, especially the Common and you will come across the Community Bluescapes team. £6m spent well delivers a lot of change on the ground. There will be more on this but a Spring highlight was spending nearly an hour with team members discussing their work on Barnes Common. Inspiring.
What else do we need to do?
Richmond council proposed a raft of changes in their latest Climate and nature strategy, 2025-2030.
There were two striking pieces of information.
According to the borough’s strategy, transport contributes around 24 per cent of local emissions. The standout figure is housing: domestic buildings are responsible for an astonishing 46 per cent of Richmond’s total emissions. I want to know more about how to address this elephant in the emissions room.
Meanwhile, consumption-based emissions are another issue. Richmond borough has the second highest per capita consumption-based emissions from households of all London boroughs, totalling 9.45 tonnes CO2 per capita (compared with 7.86 tonnes CO2 per capita for London). We need to buy less and re-use and recycle more. This will be as difficult to achieve as the change to transport habits. The balance between individual entitlement and collective responsibility is a defining characteristic of our lifetime.
Another Richmond council committee is also consulting on future plans, this time the Transport Strategy for Richmond 2040. This I found a little more underwhelming: the missing Mayor and the car credibility gap left me unconvinced this Strategy was sufficient for the task in hand. I submitted some ideas, reluctantly because they were partially formed.
Political leaders have such an important role to play in ensuring we decarbonise our way of life. UK public reaction to traffic reduction schemes follows a highly predictable pattern. It provides politicians with an opportunity to provide meaningful leadership.
They can do this knowing public support for the green transition remains strong. This is despite the depth of polling evidence to suggest almost all of us want to see action on the climate. But too many of us think we are in the minority. This perception gap needs to be addressed.
Richmond council leader, Gareth Roberts - quite rightly - claimed his flowers for his early adoption of the 20mph speed restriction. What is his next big push affecting Barnes and Mortlake?
Hammersmith Bridge having (another) moment?
Private cars have dominated this blog. Over a quarter of all the stories published are about transport.
That is because of Hammersmith Bridge. Let’s be clear: restoring the bridge for cars is not a neutral act. A restored Bridge is tantamount to building a new road across the river. It would change how as many as 20,000 vehicles move through our roads and streets. That’s not just about traffic. It’s about air, noise, space, safety, habit. It would shift the entire feel of Barnes and Mortlake, again,
It is possible to restore the Bridge and still work for an even better Barnes and Mortlake that is climate-positive, but would be so much harder to achieve.
This explains part of the interest in the Chanceller’s Spring Budget on 11 June. It might include announcements directly or indirectly about Hammersmith Bridge. I am skeptical about this. The Hammersmith Bridge Task Forece has yet to complete its work. Either way, clarity on the process would be welcome.
Meanwhile, there is an interesting situation developing further east on the Thames that might have useful lessons for bridges in west London. There are two tolled tunnels and one free, ancient ferry. The latter has seen a huge growth in user numbers. Now imagine a similar mix was applied to Chiswick, Hammersmith and Putney Bridge. Whichever remains free would likely be congested.
And this leads to how I am viewing drivers. I realised from conversations there were different motivations at play. I settled on three groups:
car-first
driver-first
people-first
Richmond borough has an distinctive transport user profile and that probably influences the proportions of each group. The split in Richmond borough is possibly 20%, 60% and 20% respectively.
I will respect the first group. I am very interested in this middle group. Their size and motivation mean addressing their needs - real and perceived - is important to moving more people into sustainable travel. I am also interested to know more about young Londoners, 18 to 35 year olds. They are starting to exhibit a set of behaviours which if continued into the 40s, would have a profound impact on how London moves.
About me
I have said from the start: this is personal. Inevitably the process has got me thinking about myself. What do I believe? How do I explain those instincts? What would it take to change my mind? What would it take to do something different?
I was struck by these words from James Harding in the Observer, April 28 last:
Our thinking is informed by what we witness.
We love the question, prizing curiosity over certainty.
We're fascinated both by imagination and information, knowing we can learn as much about life from the arts as the facts.
We generally think it's better to laugh at the world than shout at it [and that] dignity is as important as food.
That is the energy I hope animates this blog.
In writing these posts, I have been reminded that I am an optimist. It has been reaffirmed several times this year. Philip Larkin, the poet, tried to preserve a romanticised past: I believe we can create a better future. This BBC podcast reminded me, ideas seen as radical can move from the fringe to centre stage, especially during a time of great change.
I am conscious of the need to start sharing specific ideas. I have already said I want a car-free Hammersmith Bridge - a People’s Bridge - more affordable housing, NEVs, more simpler zebra crossings, pay-per-use road charging.
All hints though, no more.
To date, I have wilfully avoided detail. I want to reflect both ‘imagination and information’. I started this process outlining how I am going to develop my Manifesto of proposals,
Notes & thoughts
I intend to publish the next version of this report in July. Between now and then, I expect to have more to say on a number of topics including,
Why I call this a climate emergency
The case for a restored Hammersmith Bridge
Why congestion is a feature and not a bug
How my lifestyle has changed in the last decade
Creating a Manifesto for change