AS Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow must lead efforts to secure further investment which brings about a more rapid reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions.

The latest report from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published in August 2021 left us in no doubt that we are running out of time to limit globe warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

As the eyes of the world turn to Glasgow ahead of the COP26 Climate Summit in November, we can and must continue to increase our efforts, as part of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty. We should continue to learn from other cities around the globe.

There are cities across America who are banning the construction of fast-food drive-throughs, in a bid to combat the climate emergency.

The city of Minneapolis has adopted policies which restrict the development of new drivethrough restaurants.

There has been legislative action bringing a halt to the construction of new drivethroughs in urban areas across towns in Minnesota, Missouri, California and New Jersey.

On Thursday, a motion to explore Glasgow restricting any new drive-through restaurants was agreed at a meeting of all councillors. Scottish Green Councillors led on this debate which focused speeding up action on cutting demand for fossil fuels, particularly those linked to the use of private vehicles.

Decades of a car-centric approach to planning in Glasgow has made many shops, cultural venues and other important amenities inaccessible to those in our communities without a car. Recent research by Sustrans suggests only 51% of Glasgow households own a car. 

Drive-throughs can be considered as convenient but only if you have a car.

It is clear that the pandemic has had major implications for city’s development and resulted in more investment in drivethroughs. There has been a growing trend for fast-food from cars over the last year. 

It seems from various surveys that we now have around 50 drive-throughs in our city. However, this comes with negative consequences for the environment and community cohesion.

Neighbourhoods and streets which are dominated by drivethroughs are less attractive for residents, businesses and visitors.

Users of fast-food restaurants stay in their vehicle and have the engine running instead of walking into the restaurant to place an order for food or beverage. The idling vehicles waiting in lines at drive-throughs facilities waste fuel and worsen air quality.

Cars also encourage people to go shopping and go to fast-food outlets further afield, reducing footfall in our local high streets.

Glasgow along with other cities has to halt drive-throughs to prevent car dependency, tackle traffic congestion and deliver a major shift away from car use to increase sustainable, active travel.

Greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector have broadly stayed the same since 1990, whilst most other sectors have reduced their emissions.

As we plan for the future, design of spaces should be more oriented around people, and not cars.