On this occasion we were missing our new Vice-President (Neil Johnstone) although for very good reason as he was giving oral evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Rural, Economy and Connectivity Committee.

Neil’s invitation to appear before the Committee arose from the work of the Scottish Policy Forum. For those not familiar with the Forum, it’s the means by which CIHT Scotland members come together to provide advice and comment on transport issues in Scotland. It’s a powerful demonstration of the added value of CIHT and an example of the esteem in which we are held as an institution.

Meanwhile back in London the focus for Council’s debate was Transport and Climate Change. Coming a few weeks after the Board of Trustees agreed to publish our Pledge for Change, the debate provided the opportunity for Council to explore the issues and implications for the profession. Mindful of how the impact of climate change is increasingly visible the focus was very much on identifying opportunities where we can make a difference… now!

To help set the scene we had invited Jillian Anable (ITS Leeds) to set out the scale of the challenge facing the profession – and beyond that wider society. If we are to have any hope of realising the ambitious targets set by the UK and devolved Governments for achieving net-zero carbon targets then we need to move from being of advocates of change to becoming its agents.

Council heard some received wisdoms challenged quite robustly. Some commentators, for example, place great store in the electrification of our transport system as a key component of the pathway towards net zero carbon. But does substituting one metal box for another metal box (albeit powered differently) really represent the step change in connectivity that is needed if we are to achieve our strategic ambition?

And is our approach to investment really keeping pace with the need for change, particularly given that transport is now the most polluting sector when it comes to carbon? Council even heard a suggestion that the progress the UK has made in decarbonising the transport sector to date has come as a consequence of happy circumstance rather than the result of a concerted, co-ordinated plan of action.

A particular challenge that we need to face up to is whether the infrastructure projects included in our investment programmes remain fit for purpose in a fast changing world. The time lag that exists between a project entering the investment pipeline and delivery on the ground increasingly runs the risk of a disconnect between the need for change and the type of investment being taken forward. If the need for action is now shouldn’t we be challenging ourselves harder, as a profession, to ensure our decisions take the longer term view?

The Council’s debate showed that the issue of Transport and Climate Change is one of the key strategic issues moving forward. It showed – understandably – that there is a range of views on the subject, all of which need to be taken into account. Addressing the challenges we face won’t be easy but the contributions from Council will help your Board of Trustees shape our next steps as CIHT.

Myself and some of the new Council members for 2019-2020