Commenting on today's report from the RAC Foundation which says that more road-building is essential, Friends of the Earth's Director,

"The RAC Foundation's recommendation that we need a massive new road building programme is insane. The most up to date climate change modelling confirms that we need to make cuts of more than 80 per cent in our emissions by 2050 if we are to have any chance of avoiding the worst effects of global warming. Simply extrapolating expected traffic growth forecasts into the future and using that as the basis for policy cannot form the basis for any credible transport strategy. Government transport policy must change direction and focus on getting people out of their cars and using more sustainable transport options instead".

"The RAC Foundation's approach not only flies in the face of what is needed to combat global warming, further embedding our car culture will make it more difficult to deal with the nation's obesity crisis and takes no account of likely future oil supply challenges arising from a huge expected increase in global demand in the years ahead. Any sensible joining up of the challenges we face says loud and clear that we need to reduce car dependence, not make things worse".