How to talk to Persuadables about transport

For the UK to honour its commitment to the Paris Agreement, we will need to change the way we get around. While there are many ways to decarbonise our transport system, a reduction in the use of petrol cars is almost certainly necessary. The Climate Change Committee’s sixth carbon budget recommends “fewer car miles travelled” as well as a fast uptake of non-polluting vehicles on the road. Meanwhile in 2021 the Department for Transport set out six pillars to decarbonising our transport system, including an “accelerating modal shift to public and active transport”. 

However, petrol car reduction is a tricky area to communicate to Persuadables. Already in 2023, Oxford’s traffic filter system became a global conspiracy – wrongly construed as 15 minute cities – and we are seeing vocal minorities weaponised against measures that seek to calm traffic in cities. 

But how can we talk about the scientifically necessary changes without turning transport into a culture war? In this post, we delve into Persuadables and transport, including: 

Who's involved? What do we know about Persuadables and transport?

Do Brits support climate-friendly transport policies? Yes, but there's a catch.

How to get ahead. Ideas and tactics for talking about climate transport in a way that engages Persuadables. 

We conducted interviews with Possible, UK100 and Valent for research on this piece.