Green transport: train, plane, road or ship
Green transport: which is greener, train, plane, road or ship
rail transport
21
Train or plane? d
Evaluating train and plane travel amid ef-
forts to implement the EU's Green Deal.
The Green Deal includes a target to redu-
ce greenhouse gas emissions from tran-
sport by 90% by 2050 compared to 1990
levels. The shift towards more sustainable
transport can make a significant contribu-
tion to achieving this goal. For passenger
transport, the shift from air to rail may play
a key role, the report says.
Environmental impact
of trains and planes d
Transport accounted for 25% of the EU's
greenhouse gas emissions in 2018. These
emissions come primarily from road tran-
sport (72%), whereas maritime and air tran-
sport account for 14% and 13% of emissi-
ons respectively, and rail accounts for 0.4%
(emissions from diesel trains only). In addi-
tion to their direct contribution to global
warming and air pollution, emissions from
the production, transmission and distributi-
on of energy used by trains and aircraft are
also taken into account. Transport also cau-
ses fugitive emissions of air pollutants, for
example from abrasion of brakes, wheels
and tyres or railway tracks.
An assessment of the impacts of rail and
air transport, which are a large part of the
European passenger transport sector,
concluded that apart from walking or cyc-
ling, rail travel is the best and most sensib-
le way to transport freight and passengers.
The impacts of aviation emissions are much
higher on a passenger-kilometre basis.
But the report notes that flying is not ne-
cessarily the most harmful choice. Travel-
ling by car on petrol or diesel can be mo-
re harmful, especially if you are travelling
alone. However, it has also been sugges-
ted that the environmental costs of air
transport increase less over longer distan-
ces because the cost of landing and take-
off does not vary with the distance of the
direct flight. The evaluation was based on
a comparison of travel between 20 city
pairs across Europe.
European Environment Agency
(EEA) d
The publication Rail and Water Transport
for Low Carbon Motor Transport, based
on a study commissioned by the EEA also
published today, states that rail and ship-
ping are the least carbon intensive for mo-
tor transport. Rail and water transport ha-
ve the lowest emissions per kilometre and
unit transported, while air and road tran-
sport emit significantly more.
While the efficiency of rail and aviation
has improved significantly over the five-
year period covered by the study, the effi-
ciency of other modes appears to have
stagnated. A shift to rail and waterborne
transport should be encouraged, while
improving the greenhouse gas efficiency
of all motorised forms of transport.
Green transport
...train, plane, road or ship
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Gram of CO
2
per passenger and kilometre
Comparison of CO
2
emissions
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