Roughly one month before a new Administration is installed in Washington D.C.—one many believe will pay little or no attention to the environment and the global climate change crisis, and may actually roll back efforts to combat it—the United States Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Transportation (DOT), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released the rail portion of their U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization.
From the Executive Summary: The Action Plan for Rail Energy and Emissions Innovation (download below) “proposes actions to reduce and nearly eliminate emissions in the U.S. rail sector, in line with the U.S. economy-wide goal of net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050.” It also proposes “actions to leverage the rail system to reduce emissions from other modes. The national goal of achieving a zero-emission freight system by 2050 draws our attention to the fact that freight transport cannot be addressed simply mode by mode, but it should instead be treated as an interdependent system. This is especially true when pursuing decarbonization. This action plan presents how both rail transport and decarbonization intersect with our national transportation decarbonization blueprint, the decarbonization of the freight system, and national transmission goals … To address the climate crisis, we aim to achieve net-zero GHG emissions from each part of the transportation sector by 2050 and implement a holistic strategy to achieve a future mobility system that is clean, safe, accessible and equitable, and provides sustainable transportation options for people and goods … The Rail Decarbonization Action Plan is one of several action plans that cover each part of the transportation sector … The plan also identifies actions to expand access to rail transportation. By leveraging existing commitments, policies, programs, and partnerships while developing new paths forward, the action plan lays out a strategy that will boost the United States’ ability to lead in decarbonization efforts.”
Good ideas, good intentions, lots of hope, lots of ambition—probably all for naught at this point? Will the Action Plan for Rail Energy and Emissions Innovation be deactivated, thrown in the trash and wind up in a landfill? Maybe not, but don’t hold your breath. Take some comfort, however, from the fact that total annual rail sector emissions are estimated at about 35 MMT (million metric tons) of carbon dioxide equivalent, or just under 2% of U.S. transportation GHG emissions (it’s in the report).
Call me a cynic.
