Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon met with Scottish counterparts and stakeholders yesterday, 11 November, engaging in discussions around walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure.
The Minister met with Scottish Minister for Transport Graeme Dey, the Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights Patrick Harvie, Welsh Government Deputy Minister for Climate Change Lee Waters and Councillor Anna Richardson, City Convener for Sustainability and Carbon Reduction.
Speaking following the discussions, Minister Mallon said: "COP26 is a crucial conference for taking urgent action to address the climate emergency. It also provides a unique forum for collaboration on a wide range of climate related issues. Today I have had an opportunity to see for myself what the city of Glasgow is doing to create a greener, sustainable and more people friendly city.
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"Glasgow's transformation programme includes the re-design of city centre streets to protect and prioritise space for cyclists and pedestrians and in doing so creating safer and healthier spaces which will improve biodiversity and public transport. Work that I want to see enhanced in Northern Ireland.
"Working with Minister Dey, Minister Harvie and Deputy Minister Waters we discussed how the Scottish and Welsh governments are addressing transport decarbonisation and delivering on active travel. I am determined that partnership learning and working across these islands will be able to make much needed progress to clean and green our places - and crucially by working together we can pick up the pace with the clock running down on the climate crisis.
"As we continue to plan and implement measures across Northern Ireland to promote and enable a shift onto more sustainable modes of transport to reduce emissions and improve air quality, I recognise that there is so much more to do. But working together we can overcome the hurdles to bring the real lasting change our society and crucially our planet deserves. If COP26 is to be relevant and meaningful, we must intensify our efforts to change the way we travel and use our public spaces."
