Welsh net-zero school pledge “worryingly limited” in its implementation

Godfrey Ryan, CEO of school transport specialist Kura (@ridekura) comments on the news that all schools in Wales must now hit net-zero targets by January 2022:

“The move to create cleaner, greener schools for pupils in Wales is an extremely welcome announcement, however the announcement looks to be worryingly limited in its implementation. Unicef research shows that while children spend less than half of their waking hours at school, they breathe in almost two-thirds of their daily toxic air pollutants during school hours, underlining the critical importance of getting this area right first time.

“While addressing emissions from school buildings is a promising start, the daily school run, responsible for a quarter of cars on the road during rush-hour, is a major contributor to schools’ collective carbon footprint that must also be addressed, from both an environmental and safety perspective.

“Almost half of parents (48%) are concerned about the amount of toxic fumes generated by cars around their children’s school – a concern shared by 22.8% of school leaders across the country, indicating that more must be done to make shared school transport a viable option for parents if we are to see real, lasting changes to schools’ carbon footprint.”