Where does China’s rail network fall on this spectrum? An academic study of the lifecycle emissions of a key high-speed rail line in China provides some clues.
However, under suboptimal conditions, the project might only slightly reduce emissions and those benefits could take over 50 years to materialise. Under optimal conditions, a line between major cities like London and Paris can decrease emissions almost immediately, IEA’s model shows.
The trains they carry need to be powered by a green electricity grid, to run frequently and near capacity, attract people away from other higher-emissions modes of travel, like planes and cars, and not generate too much new demand for travel. In order to lower emissions, they must be efficient to construct. First, such lines typically flourish at distances between 300 and 1,000 kilometres, connecting cities where residents are relatively affluent and in the habit of intercity travel. The Future of Rail, a new study from the International Energy Agency (IEA), demonstrates why.Ī few factors determine a high-speed line’s carbon footprint. However, building a high-speed line does not guarantee significant emissions savings. In a recent report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change called for its construction to help phase out flights. Globally, high-speed is recognised as a part of the transition to a low-carbon future. Are train trips energy efficient enough to offset emissions produced by crisscrossing the country with thousands of kilometres of new tracks? Zhang said building subway systems not only meets public demand but can also absorb overcapacity in steel, cement and other industries, thereby boosting the economy.įrom a climate change mitigation perspective, the emissions intensity of these construction materials raises a key question. Zhang Baotong, the director of a Shaanxi economic research institute, acknowledged the thirst for materials of the projects recently invested in. In February, the government reported that China’s coal consumption increased in 2018 for the second year in a row, with carbon dioxide emissions following suit. In recent years, construction – particularly the production of steel and cement – has been driving the increase in China’s energy consumption. They will connect the Guangxi gulf economic zone, historical Xi’an and Yan’an, and cities along the Yangtze River in Jiangsu province. The recently announced high-speed rail projects span China. China’s 13 th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) seeks to replicate that feat, setting a target to build 30,000 kilometres of high-speed rail connecting 80% of the country’s major cities. Little more than a decade ago, it took 12 hours to travel between Beijing and Shanghai by train. As China continues to pump money into an ever-expanding rail empire, these projects tell a cautionary tale. However, studies show that some of China’s high-speed lines have relatively large carbon footprints and are chronically underutilised. Trains are among the most energy-efficient modes of transport, so new lines could be a major asset to China’s decarbonisation. These investments are the latest in a decade-long building spree that has rapidly outfitted China with the world’s most extensive high-speed rail network – larger than all others combined. A total of 800 billion yuan (US$120 billion) will be poured into rail construction in 2019 as part of a plan to stimulate the domestic economy. China’s economic planning department has recently approved a flurry of new rail projects at a scale that Green New Deal advocates in the United States would envy.