Since 2016, the transport sector has been the largest contributor to the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions. Although there have been modest decreases (1.4% in 2018 and a further 2.8% in 2019), transport’s share of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions has risen to an estimated 34% overall in 2019, due in large part to the energy sector significantly reducing its emissions.
Data for 2018 shows rail accounted for 1.4% of total UK territorial transport carbon dioxide emissions, aviation for 1.2%, and road 90.8% (see Further Reading 1). Overall transport emissions are only 3.0% lower than in 1990, as increased road traffic has largely offset improvements in vehicle fuel efficiency (see Further Reading 2).
Rail is firmly committed to playing its part in the UK’s efforts to combat climate change and contributing to deliver net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
But why is this target so important, why is the railway’s contribution key, and how does this translate into a vision for a low-carbon railway in 2050?
To understand the answers to these questions, it is necessary first to set the scene for why 2050, which is rooted in international agreements and written large in UK legislation, is such a key date.
We explain the statutory targets the UK Government has set to deliver its commitments under these agreements, and why these vary across the UK.
We then explore the major decisions, actions and commitments that the GB railway has committed to and must implement.
Finally, we look at what this might mean for the way the GB railway will look and operate in 2050.
2050 net zero target
It is now beyond all reasonable doubt that climate change is taking place at rates beyond almost anything known in the geological record, that human activities are a major contributor, that these changes have a disproportionate impact on poorer and developing nations, and that the consequences of unmitigated climate change would be catastrophic on a global scale.
The international consensus on climate change and related agreements have been developed through a succession of COPs (Conferences of the Parties), convened over the past three decades since climate change was first accepted as an imminent global crisis.
COP21, held in France in 2016, produced the Paris Agreement - a legally binding international treaty on climate change.
COP26 will take place in Glasgow in November this year, hosted by the UK Government. Delegates representing governments from around the world will be seeking to agree the next phase of climate action.
The Paris Agreement (see Further Reading 3) was adopted by 196 parties on December 12 2015 and entered into force on November 4 2016. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C, compared with pre-industrial levels. To achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries aim to reach global peak greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible in order to achieve a climate neutral world by mid-century.
In May 2019, the statutory advisor to the UK Government - the Committee on Climate Change (CCC, May 2019) - published Net Zero, the UK’s contribution to stopping global warming (see Further Reading 4).
This was prepared in response to a request from the ministers of the UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments responsible for climate change, for advice on when the UK and its devolved administrations should set and (as determined) reach a net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) or carbon target.
