Transport, as we know it today, would not have to adapt much in light of a change in climate. A small rise in temperature will not stop the transportation of goods or people. Practically if it gets warmer the most likely change will be the improvement of air conditioning units.

Road surfaces melting may be a problem; but it is questionable whether this problem will force us to radically rethink a mobility regime based around the car.

And yet transport technology and mobility patterns are set to change dramatically over the next 25 years, as government and society are slowly getting to grips with the costs of the current regime.

The current transport mix creates a quarter of all CO2 emissions, adversely impacts local air quality, has massive implications on health and safety and is crudely prejudiced against those who don't have access to a car.

This was summarised by Denise Carlo, of Norwich and Norfolk Transport Group.'Global warming is one motivating factor pushing for a more sustainable transport system, but it is not the only one'.

There are technological and strategic moves under way to adapt the UK's transport network to be more compatible with the whole of society and the environment.

Technological solutions encourage efficiency gains. Strategic moves require lifestyle changes. Both are needed if the environmental and social sustainability of transport is to be addressed.

As a society we are more comfortable with the technical fix, we are currently not prepared to sacrifice our individual mobility in the name of an intangible improvement to society and the future environment without there being acceptable alternatives. This is especially the case in areas such as rural Norfolk where blanket taxation penalises those who have no alternative but to travel by car.

We have the understanding to address the transport problem. Should the CO2 emissions from transport not fall, we will commit ourselves to significant climate change.