Climate justice starts at the bus stop
Climate policy that doesn't connect to people's daily reality is climate policy that loses. A short reflection on why the bus matters more than the technology demonstrator.
The carbon emissions of a privately owned electric car are smaller than those of a privately owned petrol car. The carbon emissions of a frequent, cheap, reliable bus are smaller than either, per passenger-mile. And the bus is fairer.
A climate strategy that hands government subsidies to upper-middle-income households to buy luxury electric vehicles, while letting rural bus services be cut for the sixth year running, is not a climate strategy. It is class warfare with a green veneer.
What a just transition looks like, locally
Frequent, cheap, reliable public transport in every market town and city.
Warm homes — properly insulated, properly heated — as a basic right, not a luxury good.
Retraining and good jobs for the workers in carbon-intensive industries; nobody discarded.
Energy bills that don't force pensioners to choose between heating and eating.
Climate justice is about the right things, but it is also about the right scale. A campaign that loses sight of the bus stop will not win.
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