29% of the UK’s trains still run solely on diesel and over 50% are diesel-electric hybrids and the problem is worse in countries with less developed infrastructure, like India, where over 50% of its trains run solely on diesel. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recent report provided a worrying reminder that we cannot sustain this use of fuel-burning transport: while a 1.5C increase in global temperatures is ecologically manageable, we are currently on course for a 3C rise in a matter of decades. Scientists have stressed that CO2 emissions – overwhelmingly caused by diesel-based transport – must reach a net total of zero by 2050. Hydrogen offers an opportunity for clean and scalable transport, which is especially important when considering the rapidly developing train networks of Latin America and South East Asia. As populations grow, ensuring that development does not come at the cost of pollution and air quality is doable if we make the right choices now.
Full article available: https://www.neweurope.eu/article/hydrogen-trains-the-future-is-clean-and-high-speed/