Daisy Narayanan is the Director of Urbanism for Sustrans, where her role involves interweaving policy, public realm design and a broad integration of key place principles to help create liveable towns and cities. Daisy is on the Board of Architecture & Design Scotland and Transport for Edinburgh. She is a member of the Edinburgh Climate Commission and the Evidence Group of Scotland’s Climate Assembly. Daisy was on the Active Travel Task Force set up by the Minister for Transport and the Islands and is a member of the Scottish Transport Awards judging panel. In an exclusive interview with Asian Voice, she spoke at length about climate change, G7 and Cop26 summit.
What are your hopes and expectations from the G7 and Cop26 summits this year?
CoP26 and G7 meetings provide a real test of the world’s ability to meet the severe threat posed by climate change and biodiversity loss. Living in Scotland, I am especially excited about the worlds’ eyes being on Glasgow for CoP 26.This is a real opportunity for Scotland to show leadership in bold and radical actions to tackle the climate crisis.
I work in the field of sustainable transport and we know that not only is transport is the only sector to have experienced no reduction in carbon emissions since 1990, but is also now the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the UK, with private motor vehicles such as cars making up the majority of this.
To me, it is therefore vital that reimagining transport in global cities, in a way that is active, healthy, sustainable and inclusive, is on the agenda in these summits.
What according to you are the most pressing concerns about Climate Change for India and the UK specifically?
There is a real tragedy unfolding in India right now, as a second wave of the pandemic takes its toll. Covid has highlighted inequalities not just in the UK but across the globe, and, just like Covid, we know the effects of climate change are also unequal, and tend to largely impact the most vulnerable.
While I am not an expert on climate policy in India, we know that the Global South economies bear the brunt of global climate change, with warming temperatures and unpredictable weather patterns driving economic hardship and food insecurity.
It is therefore important for policy makers across India and the UK to put sustainable, low carbon measures at the heart of our cities, towns and places, to make them safer, more inclusive and more resilient.
Do you think the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is serious about Climate Change?
Looking through the lens of transport, walking and cycling have been an important part of the UK’s resilience in weathering the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, and will continue to be important as we move forward, to ensure we recover from the pandemic in a sustainable way that will help create healthier and more resilient communities.
The UK Government has recognised this in its recently published Gear Change strategy, which aims to rapidly improve walking and cycling infrastructure and make active travel an appealing and easy option for many. Likewise, the recent announcement to cut carbon emissions by 78% by 2035 show promising steps forward. However, there is still much work to do over the coming years to make sure that ambitious climate targets are met.
What do we need to learn as a community with regard to climate change from the Covid-19 pandemic?
As a member of Scotland’s Climate Assembly, I have seen first-hand that ordinary members of the public are quick and engaged learners about the climate crisis. We need bold and urgent action and we need it now – there’s a clear consensus on that.
The pandemic has shone a light on the resilience within our communities. In many cities across the world, lockdown gave people a taste of what it is like to live locally. Many realised distances in their towns and cities are much shorter than they first thought. They noticed birds signing and discovered hidden places in their neighbourhood, and people also tried to shop locally. It is therefore important that we take some of what we have learned from our experiences of living locally during this time to shape the future.
However, currently, too many neighbourhoods are planned around car travel at the expense of local jobs and services that a community needs to thrive. The 20-minute neighbourhood concept, where everyone has access to their everyday needs in a 20-minute return walk is one way we can take the lessons we have learned from Covid to create more sustainable towns and cities. Reducing the need for people to travel in a private vehicle will go a long way to reducing the emissions which the UK are producing, whilst also making the country’s air cleaner, people healthier and supporting cohesive communities.
In your perspective, what is the future of the UK-India partnership with respect to opportunities in collaboration for initiating mindful policies towards a better future?
Climate change doesn’t recognise borders, so global leaders have to collaborate and ensure that we take collective action to ensure a better future for all. To me there is an opportunity to strengthen our cultural, academic and economic ties by putting climate action, climate justice, wellbeing and innovation at the heart of all collaborative work.
Greta Thunberg says that she doesn't plan to attend the Cop26 conference in November this year. What kind of impact would it have if voices like her were missing from the event?
Just by saying she doesn’t plan to attend the Cop26 conference, Greta has shone a bright light on the inequality and climate injustice which is at the heart of the climate crisis! I think I am most inspired by what she said: ‘A delay, however, should not put off urgent action on climate. We don’t have to wait for conferences nor anyone or anything else to dramatically start reducing our (greenhouse gas) emissions. Solidarity and action can start today.”
