Adopting sustainable transport and technological innovation policies is a very important step in the efficient development of transport that would determine a significant drop of emissions. The challenge consists in putting an end to oil dependency in transport without compromising mobility. The efficiency of energy resources is a global political objective which supports economic progress, consolidates competitiveness and delivers high-quality mobility services. In this context, the European 2020 objectives in reducing emissions refer to energy efficiency triggering a drop of 20-30%. Globally, emissions should be reduced by 50% until 2050 which means that technologies should be developed, traffic should be shifted to greener transport and transparent policies should be adopted to support this objective.
In practice, transports should use less and cleaner energy, to better exploit a modern infrastructure and to reduce the negative environmental impact. Thus, transport development should rely on improving the energy-efficiency performance of vehicles for all transport modes and developing and implementing sustainable fuels and propulsion systems. Unlike other sectors where emission cuts depend on replacing technologies, reducing greenhouse gas emissions in transports also depends on changing the behaviour of billion of users for whom mobility is vital. These consumers adopt individual decisions about selecting a transport mode, the type of fuel used and the duration or distance of the journey. Under these circumstances, reducing transport emissions implies the transfer of a significant number of consumers to cleaner technologies. “As climate change evolves into a global problem, policies in this sector require global agreements. In order to meet the objective on limiting global warming under 2°C by 2100, the charge per carbon dioxide tone will have to be increased to USD 700/tone”, shows the report “Turning the Right Corner”, elaborated by IBRD and WB. The more a country invests in road infrastructure development, the more the carbon cost will affect passenger transport costs (passenger/km) or freight transport costs and the less emission reduction objectives a country achieves, the more expensive and challenging will be to shift to a low emission transport system.
Concerning the availability of the transport sector to reduce emissions, global scenarios differ because of the different estimations on the progress of technologies and “without the rapid identification and adoption of new technologies, reducing emissions depends of modal shift. The CO2 level can be reduced by shifting traffic from roads to railways and river/maritime routes, from air to railways and also by changing motorised individual transport for public transport”, the report shows. In fact, railway transport is encouraged and the countries where road transportation has a small share manage to cut emissions significantly, especially on the long-run. However, identifying road traffic alternatives is a challenge for the development of the cities. According to the report “Seamless Transport for Greener Growth-2012” conducted by OECD, emissions grow far less than transport flows due to the technologies which generate less CO2 emissions. Transport plays an important role in the development of a sustainable society, the change of mobility patterns to eco-friendly transport being clearly possible. This is also necessary because of the population growth and urbanisation which launch challenges for the re-shaping of transport demands and the delivery of services compliant with mobility requirements.
Although choosing the eco-friendly transport mode, especially railway transport, represents an essential part of achieving low-emission targets, the above-mentioned factors also influence technological evolution, the key factor in reducing emissions.
Railway sector will keep its commitment to reduce emissions
Railway transport has the advantage of electrification which means that it can reduce emissions while its specific technologies can optimise energy efficiency by implementing traffic management systems, vehicles with low energy consumption systems and energy recuperative braking. In this context, the development of railway technologies and energy efficiency and supply can contribute to the development of a sustainable transport system, the development of technologies without CO2 emissions or with low emissions being crucial in stopping climate change.
As transport is responsible for 23% of the CO2 emissions worldwide, especially because of road transport, it is very important to shift traffic to railways, because according to data from the International Energy Agency, “globally, railway companies generate less than 1% of total transport emissions. These encouraging figures are due to the development of railway technology, energy-efficient rolling stock and superior volumes of passengers carried (for example, high-speed and intercity trains consume more energy/train/km, but compared to the higher number of passengers carried, they consume less energy per passenger/km)”, shows the “Railway Handbook 2012: Energy Consumption and CO2 Emissions” study conducted by IEA and UIC.
In 2009, the energy necessary for passenger/km traffic reduced by 13% compared to 1990 and under these circumstances “in 2009, the road sector was responsible for 71% of total emissions, while railways have only generated 1.8% of total CO2. In 1990-2009, the total volume of emissions increased by 28% and by 5% in 2000-2009, figures valid for all transport modes, except for railway transport”, the study shows. If in 1990, only 30% of the railway lines were electrified, in 2009, the percentage increased to 53%. Currently, due to technological development, 80% of railway traffic is made by electric trains and an average of 30% of the electricity necessary to railway transport results from renewable sources.
Due to technological development, in 1990-2009, European railways have reduced emissions by 32% and passenger railway transport by 20%. By 2020, the railway sector has committed to cut emissions by 30% compared to 1990. “According to the latest monitoring report, the railway sector will clearly achieve its target of reducing emissions by 30% for both passengers and freight, as emissions per passenger/km were reduced by 20% in 2009 and CO2 emissions/t/km by 38% already exceeding the 2020 objective”, shows the study developed by the two institutions.
Over the next 7 years, Europe will bet on intelligent, green and integrated transport and these objectives require funds estimated at over EUR 7 Billion. The challenge launched by proposed targets, which include resource efficiency, environment protection, safe and seamless transport to the benefit of citizens, economy and society, consists in the intelligent technology to be used in the transport system.
As long as the railways represent the transport of the future, due to its environment-protection and efficiency features, railway innovation is vital. The development of energy storage and energy supply technologies, cleaner and more silent vehicles, intelligent equipments, as well as infrastructure and services innovation make railway transport the best of transport choices.
Share on:
