Alone Together podcast: has the pandemic helped us to live and travel sustainably?

Has the pandemic helped or hindered our progress to live more sustainably? In this episode of Alone Together we explore the ways we have had to adapt to coronavirus in order to stay safe, and the impact this may have on the environment. Are we still on track for a carbon neutral future? Join us, as we speak to the experts to find out just that. Listen to the episode in full: Morven McIntyre speaks to Beth Gardiner, an environmental journalist and author of bestselling book ‘Choked: The Age of Air Pollution and the Fight for a Cleaner Future’. She discusses the lessons that can be learned from the Covid-19 outbreak: “We learned a lot from the lockdown experience, and there were some people who said, 'we did get cleaner air, is there a way we can make that last?'” Beth outlines the importance of avoiding a ‘dirty recovery’ which is an economy centred on fossil fuels and urges governments not to take a backwards step when it comes to carbon emissions. And Matt Millard speaks with transport expert Tom Millard, a senior consultant and lead for Economics at PJA - an integrated transport, engineering and placemaking consultancy based in Birmingham. Tom explains how the pandemic has impacted travel demand: “Transportation plays a key part in this climate emergency that we now find ourselves in and reducing car use is fundamental in reducing the impact on the environment. It’s not only about the emissions but also about the space that the vehicles take up which causes congestion.” He discusses the government policy of ‘Gear Change’ which aims to enable the public to use ‘active travel’ by building more cycling lanes and widening pavements. Subscribe to Alone Together Alone Together is a Laudable production from the newsrooms of the Manchester Evening News, the Edinburgh Evening News and Birmingham Live. It is available on all major podcasting platforms, including Spotify and Apple. For exclusive, immersive content, you can download the Entale app on iOS or Android. If you want to know more about Laudable podcasts then why not subscribe to our newsletter.