The global ruling class (which thinks nothing about its own carbon footprint as they fly about the world in their private jets) would have us believe that there is an irreversible climate catastrophe at hand if the citizens of the globe (other than them, of course) don't rapidly change their behaviours into a more sustainable pattern. A recent development in the United Kingdom gives us a sense of where our woke politicians would have us go to meet the United Nations and its ESG goals.
Here is the announcement from the Oxfordshire County Council located to the west of London:
Traffic filters - they sound rather innocuous, don't they? Read on.
On November 29th, 2022, the county council's cabinet voted in favour of implementing six traffic filters that will be implemented under an experimental traffic regulation order (ETRO) for a period of not less than six months once improvement works to the Oxford railway station are complete. The alleged purpose of these traffic filters is to reduce traffic, make bus journeys faster and make walking and cycling safer, all of which sound quite palatable on the surface. During the trial, county council will monitor traffic levels, bus journey times and air quality as well as the impact of the traffic filters on individuals and those with protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation). A second public consultation will run during the first six months of the trial. A long-term decision about the traffic filters will be made towards the end of the trial based on monitoring data collected and feedback from consultation.
Here is a quote from Councillor Andrew Gant, the Council's Cabinet Member for Highways Management, about the implementation of Oxford's traffic filters:
"Currently, our roads are gridlocked with traffic, and this traffic is damaging our economy and our environment. Oxford needs a more sustainable, reliable and inclusive transport system for everyone. Traffic filters are an important tool to deliver a transport plan that works for all.
Traffic filters are designed to deliver a safer, cleaner and more prosperous place to live, work and visit. This is not a scheme to stop private vehicles in the city. Exemptions and permits available for residents and businesses will make car journeys faster while also improving alternative transport options such as public transport.
Feedback received by the thousands of people who responded to our consultation survey, spoke to us during the engagement events or wrote to us has been instrumental in making changes to the traffic filters proposals.
The traffic filters will be introduced as a trial. This will be another opportunity for us to learn from people’s experience of the filters and adapt and make any changes if necessary.”
Thanks to "Reconnecting Oxford", we have this map showing where the traffic filters will be installed:
Having visited Warsaw and seen first hand how the Jewish ghetto was established, for some reason, this reminds me of how the Germans locked down certain citizens of nations that they conquered.
Here's what council expects from the traffic filters:
1.) Reduce traffic levels by around 20 per cent across the city inside the ring road and around 35 per cent in the city centre.
2.) Increase bus and park and ride use by up to 10 per cent.
3.) Enable new and improved bus routes.
4.) Reduce road accidents by around 34 per year.
5.) Reduce annual carbon emissions associated with road transport by 6%.
6.) Increase walking and cycling trips by around 10 per cent.
The press release from Oxfordshire County Council doesn't supply us with many details about the plan which were published in the local Oxford Mail with my bolds:
"Duncan Enright, Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for Travel and Development Strategy revealed additional details to The Sunday Times. He stated that the filters would turn Oxford into a "15 minute city" with local services located within a 15 minute walking radius of residents' homes.
"It is about making sure you have the community centre which has all of those essential needs, the bottle of milk, pharmacy, GP, schools which you need to have a 15-minute neighbourhood."
Here's a quote from the aforementioned Sunday Times article on October 23, 2022 with my bolds:
"Its 150,000 residents will be allowed to use their cars as much as they like within their district and will be given free permits allowing them to drive to other districts on 100 days a year. If they exceed this limit, they will be fined, possibly £70 a journey or a day.
A maximum of three permits a household will be allowed if there are several adults with cars registered to the address. The restrictions will take effect between 7am and 7pm, seven days a week, in four of the six districts, but not on Sundays in the other two.
Buses, coaches, taxis, delivery vans, HGVs, motorbikes, mopeds and bicycles will be exempt and there will also be exceptions for blue badge holders and people with caring responsibilities.
According to Eric Worrall on "Watts Up With That":
"Under the new scheme if residents want to leave their zone they will need permission from the Council who gets to decide who is worthy of freedom and who isn’t. Under the new scheme residents will be allowed to leave their zone a maximum of 100 days per year, but in order to even gain this every resident will have to register their car details with the council who will then track their movements via smart cameras round the city.
Every resident will be required to register their car with the County Council who will then monitor how many times they leave their district via number plate recognition cameras. And don’t think you can beat the system if you’re a two car household. Those two cars will be counted as one meaning you will have to divide up the journeys between yourselves. 2 cars 50 journeys each; 3 cars 33 journeys each and so on.
You might ask yourself, where on earth did this idea of a 15-minute city come from? Here you go:
And, here's the authors' justification for the implementation of a 15-minute city:
"The socio-economic impacts on cities during the COVID-19 pandemic have been brutal, leading to increasing inequalities and record numbers of unemployment around the world. While cities endure lockdowns in order to ensure decent levels of health, the challenges linked to the unfolding of the pandemic have led to the need for a radical re-think of the city, leading to the re-emergence of a concept, initially proposed in 2016 by Carlos Moreno: the “15-Minute City”. The concept, offering a novel perspective of “chrono-urbanism”, adds to existing thematic of Smart Cities and the rhetoric of building more humane urban fabrics, outlined by Christopher Alexander, and that of building safer, more resilient, sustainable and inclusive cities, as depicted in the Sustainable Development Goal 11 of the United Nations. With the concept gaining ground in popular media and its subsequent adoption at policy level in a number of cities of varying scale and geographies, the present paper sets forth to introduce the concept, its origins, intent and future directions."
The COVID-19 pandemic just keeps on delivering and delivering and delivering.
I bet that you can't guess who is on board (or the driver of) the concept of a 15 minute city, can you. Here you go again:
Here's a lengthy video on the concept from the World Economic Forum's YouTube channel:
And, the WEF even has a cartoon about the 15-minute city that even the dumbest of the sweaty class can understand:
Imagine that, the World Economic Forum is a proponent of the 15-minute city!
So, in order to meet the United Nations Environmental, Social and Governance goals (aka Sustainable Development Goals), it's looking increasingly likely that the powers that ought not to be are undertaking programs of climate lockdowns in order to save the planet for the overlords, including Klaus Schwab and his ilk, who will be able to continue their carbon-intensive lifestyles while we walk or bike everywhere but only within our immediate neighbourhoods, eat bugs and own nothing...but, on the upside, we'll be happy!
Climate lockdowns. Coming soon to a jurisdiction near you.
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