launch reducing short flights According to the analysis by researchers from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), the possibility of replacing it with the train in Spain would allow a strong reduction in CO2 emissions currently caused by aviation in our country. aeronautical engineer Adeline de Montlaur. This The reduction in emissions will range between 20% and 32% compared to the problems currently caused by flights in mainland Spain.
Particularly, if air travel is a Train alternative up to two and a half hours On this route, the emission savings will be 20% compared to the current situation, which means stopping 365 tons of CO2 emissions per day.
Had the replacement been more ambitious and included flights across the peninsula with an alternative by train up to four and a half hoursCO2 savings will reach 32%, which means 580 tonnes per day.
The results of this study will be presented at an international symposium to be held in Toulouse (France) next week.
Adeline de Montlaur, author of a recent study on the impact of short-term flights on climate, points out that even these final train journeys of up to four and a half hours are “quite competitive in terms of time if the travel time is short.” It’s considered “door-to-door travel,” meaning wait times at airports and other issues are included.
Exclusion of connections with international flights
Regarding the fact that in the agreement between PSOE and Sumar domestic flights connecting with other international flights are excluded, the expert notes: “It significantly limits the number of routes affected and greatly limits the benefit in terms of emissions.” “That’s something this measure would have.” “To achieve a significant impact, we must seek to develop multimodal solutions that allow the connection of trains with international flights,” he adds.
Regarding the fact that Train tickets are often more expensive than plane ticketsThe UPC professor confirms: “With the emergence of new operators, there is room to reduce the price of trains (between Barcelona and Madrid it is possible to find trains with Avlo, Ouigo and even Renfe for less than 40 euros). But increasingly costs, including environmental impacts, have to increase.” “We should also consider the possibility that the thing is plane tickets.”
According to that, “There may be penalties” for flights with train alternatives“We encourage switching to the train or other alternatives.”
On the other hand, the European Commission’s latest agreement setting mandatory rates green fuels in aviation He says there is no sign of it being habitable between now and 2050. Firstly, “none of the targets proposed for the use of these fuels in the past have been met” and furthermore, “there are studies showing that the volume of sustainable fuels that can be produced with current techniques is still low” is quite large. annoyed”.
“None of the targets proposed in the past for the use of sustainable aviation fuels have been met.”
Therefore, considering that “reducing CO2 emissions is extremely urgent” in aviation and “We neither have a technological solution (electric planes) nor sufficient ecological fuel.”“The only effective measure right now is to reduce air traffic,” he says.
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