This month, I’ve been observing how different modes of transportation are tackling environmental responsibility. As COP28 draws to a close this year in Dubai, it is interesting to see once again how climate change is taking center stage in the global environmental debate.
The increased appetite for transport and travel within and outside the UK is creating huge amounts of pollution and greenhouse gases. Different sectors have very different funding, ambitions and governance arrangements. But all companies seem to be aware of their environmental impact, monitor that impact, and have plans in place to reduce it.
Starting with aviation, everyone has gone on vacation and remembered the journey from the terminal to the plane and the smell and taste of the air. Idle planes emit a huge range of pollutants from their huge engines, and waiting on the tarmac to board can be one of the most unpleasant parts of our travels.
Governments Jet Zero (great name) is an interesting read and illustrates some of the challenges facing the industry as it plans to decarbonise. The organization recognizes the non-CO2 impacts of aviation fuel and its broader environmental impact, as well as the development of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
Just last week, Virgin flew the first 100% SAF transatlantic flight by a commercial airline from London to New York. They used a blend of hydrotreated esters and fatty acids and synthetic aromatic kerosene for chemists.
The rail industry faces different, but equally difficult, environmental challenges. As a country, we have electrified many of our railways, which is a great start, but the question is how much of the electricity we need will come from renewable energy. Additionally, many diesel trains still operate passenger and freight services up and down the country.
I often carry a hand-held pollution monitor with me when I take the train for work, and some of the results surprise me. After a quick look online, there doesn’t seem to be much research on pollution levels in trains, so I’m going to continue my citizen science project.
Even more evidence is the level of pollution at the station. Increasingly, research is investigating how pollution, primarily but not entirely from vehicles, circulates around platforms where vast numbers of passengers wait to board.
hyper local Monitoring, which we are increasingly seeing in our town centres, is a powerful tool for the rail industry to incorporate into environmental plans and projects.
And finally, the road transport industry, to be fair, emits far more pollution and greenhouse gases than rail and aviation combined. We have implemented a number of national and local policies and projects and plan to maintain good progress in reducing the environmental impact of road transport.
One example is the Edinburgh Low Emission Zone. Signs have now been raised and are scheduled to take effect from June 2024. Unlike Clean Air Zones, drivers cannot pay to drive non-compliant vehicles within the zone. Fines apply instead, starting at £60 and increasing to almost the maximum amount. £500 for fourth ‘offence’.
It cannot be said that all the policies and projects promoted by local governments and the central government are accepted by the people. The “weaponization” of the London ULEZ is a good example of how well-evidence-based solutions can cause social unrest. For more information he will let me know in 2024.