France publishes first “Carbon Footprint Assessment” for a high-speed railway line
The following is a translation of “Premier Bilan Carbone pour une Ligne ferroviaire à Grande Vitesse.” Secteurpublique.fr, September 28, 2009. The original article is here .
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The first overall “Carbon Footprint Assessment” (Bilan Carbone, a registered trademark) for a high-speed rail (HSR) line confirms their contributions to the objectives of Grenelle de l'environnement (see list of acronyms and terms, below). On Friday, September 25, 2009, ADEME, RFF and SNCF presented at Besançon (here; English page is here) the results of the Carbon Footprint Assessment of LGV Rhin-Rhône. This, currently the only HSR line under construction in France, extends 140 km / 87 mi between Dijon and Mulhouse.
(An English version of the study summary is here. An information page for TGV Rhin-Rhône, including maps and photos, is here.)
For the first time, greenhouse gas emissions from the design and construction phases were screened using emission factors proposed by ADEME, or developed specifically with its assistance. This screening included construction of new infrastructure and also two new stations (Besançon - Franche-Comté TGV and Belfort - Montbéliard TGV), 30 additional TGV trainsets and maintenance facilities. These results were then supplemented by estimates of greenhouse gas emissions during the first 30 years of commercial operation, from the planned opening in December 2011.
Results from these initial analyses established that 1.9 million tonne-equivalents of CO2 (teCO2) will be emitted during this first cycle of 30 years, 53 percent from traction energy and 42 percent from initial construction work. Subtracting the greenhouse gas emissions avoided each year by diversion of road and air traffic to the new rail services (an average of 1.2 million passengers per year), the study shows that the “carbon footprint” of the project will be eliminated from its 12th year of operation. Therefore, LGV operation makes the whole project "carbon positive" from 2024 with an increasing "carbon return" every year thereafter. Before this point, it should be noted that from 2012, almost 1.5 million new riders each year will use the train to visit the areas served and thus support their economic development.
The competitiveness of HSR transport is confirmed by the first overall “Carbon Footprint Assessment” that highlights its environmental benefits over the long term.
Veronique Wallon, Director of Strategy and Sustainable Development of RFF and Mireille Faugère, director general of SNCF Voyages, expressed their satisfaction at Besançon following the publication of these results while recalling that the two enterprises have well-developed additional strategies towards a more sustainable mobility in Europe.
For RFF, Veronique Wallon said, “in the fight against climate change, RFF has a great responsibility: to maximize the network's contribution to the ‘Factor 4’ objective (i.e. reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 25 percent of current levels by 2050) under economic duress. The carbon footprint is at the heart of this approach. It is the tool to reconcile economy and ecology, to measure the adequacy of our investment vis-à-vis the climatic constraint and can suggest the right choices for the future. It must be consolidated and shared in and out of the inner circle of experts. The responsibility of RFF is to implement transparency. We must learn to think ‘Carbon,’ sharing this particular methodological rigor. Carbon assessment is naturally for RFF a subject for cooperation for the benefit of the railway system and, more generally, the transport system. We work with all stakeholders to bring about the ‘carbon governance’ of the network. Our goal in the months ahead is to refine the tools enabling us to evaluate and optimize investments in terms of carbon footprint. The first overall railway carbon assessment achieved for LGV Rhin-Rhône is undeniably the first step in this steering process and a benchmark for future rail projects.”
For SNCF, Mireille Faugère said, "With less than two percent of annual overall greenhouse gas emissions in France, rail provides undoubtedly a major contribution to the efforts of the state in the fight against climate change. SNCF has been working for several years on various strategies to offer travel, with greater and greater “ecomobility,” to our clients. The TGV Rhin-Rhône Carbon Footprint Assessment reinforces our desire to deploy TGV trainsets which provide good performance in terms of kWh per passenger carried.
“Now, just a few weeks before the launch of the tender for new-generation TGV trainsets, the TGV Rhin-Rhône Carbon Footprint Assessment leads us to establish ‘eco-friendly’ design and power consumption levels as major assessment criteria,” said Faugère.
Virginie Schwarz, ADEME Associate Director, Energy, Air, Noise, said for the agency, "Work in partnership with SNCF and RFF will enrich the discussions launched within the observatoires (“Observation Posts”) on Energy, Environment and Transport created from Grenelle de l'environnement for defining a common methodology to different carriers in calculating their CO2 emissions. The draft law “Grenelle 2” provides that information on CO2 emissions by transport services is not limited merely to provision of Internet “eco-comparisons” but will be communicated more clearly for all transport services and modes. This operation, specific to realization of large infrastructure projects, can be replicated in domains other than transport. For example, the ADEME Regional Branch Office for Franche-Comte has proposed to assist Solvay SA and Dalkia SA to produce a similar Carbon Footprint Assessment for their proposed 30 MW cogeneration project.
In this context, RFF and SNCF announced at Besançon their intention to develop upon the work started during the Carbon Footprint Assessment for LGV Rhin-Rhône. They plan to release in coming months a methodological guide for implementation of carbon footprint assessments for any rail project, including upgrading of existing lines. The aim is to provide the state and communities a decisionmaking tool, “Carbon Footprint Assessment Estimates,” for preliminary studies of new projects. Representatives from both institutions have, however, pointed out that the decision to implement these projects should not be limited to carbon footprint assessment, but must also take into account socioeconomic, technical, and other environmental aspects such as preservation of biodiversity.
Immediate applications
This autumn, carbon footprint assessments for civil engineering works, and construction of new stations and maintenance workshops will be prepared and explained for the purpose of improving “carbon footprint awareness” of these works and proposed alternatives. Finally, during commissioning of LGV Rhin-Rhône in December 2011, the “Carbon Footprint Assessment” for the operation and maintenance phase will be updated with actual data. In addition, RFF and SNCF want to include “Carbon Footprint Assessments” in the environmental and socioeconomic assessment of the planned LGV Rhin-Rhône TGV East Branch performed under LOTI to provide a sustainable development approach.
List of Acronyms and Terms:
ADEME: Agence de l'environnement et de la maîtrise de l'énergie, Agency for the Environment and Energy Management. ADEME is managed jointly by two cabinet ministries: the Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea (here), and the Ministry of National Education, Advanced Instruction and Research (here). The agency’s mission is to encourage, supervise, coordinate, facilitate and carry out programs designed to protect the environment and manage energy consumption. The English-language homepage is here.
Dalkia: An energy services group affiliated with Veolia Environnement SA and Vivendi SA. The homepage is here.
Grenelle de l'environnement or simply “Grenelle”: Environmental Grenelle Accords, the round-table summit convened by French President Nicolas Sarkozy during fall 2007. This includes representatives from national and local governments, business, industry, labor, professional associations and non-government organizations. The intent is to define key elements of environmental and sustainable-development policy over a five-year period. The English-language homepage is here.
Grenelle 1 (Grenelle I; the "First Grenelle Act"): A “guidance” or “planning” law, formalizing the decisions of the Grenelle Environnement summit. As such, it describes established goals and planned expenditures. The formal title is Loi de programmation relative à la mise en œuvre du Grenelle de l'environnement (“Planning law on the implementation of the Grenelle de l'environnement.) It became effective from August 2009. The annual budget for 2009 also detailed procedures and funding for implementation of Grenelle 1.
Grenelle 2 (Grenelle II; the "Second Grenelle Act"): A draft law to implement the “First Grenelle Act,” which would also specify funding. The formal title is Loi portant engagement national pour l'environnement (“Law for National Commitment to the Environment). This had not become effective at the time of writing (March 2010).
(“Grenelle” also refers to the Accords de Grenelle, an attempt by the government of Prime Minister Georges Pompidou to end the strikes and student uprisings of May 1968.)
LOTI: Loi Orientation de Transport Intérieur, the Inland Transport Guidance Law, which took effect from 1982. It stipulates that public transport be provided "on reasonable terms of access, quality, price and cost to the community." The law also provides that large infrastructure projects carried out with public financial assistance should be evaluated after completion with reference to economic and social benefits delivered. “LOTI Assessments” are retrospective assessments conducted pursuant to this law, and are performed for road and rail projects. We note that systematic assessments of this type, based on uniform national standards, are not conducted for U.S. transportation infrastructure projects.
RFF: Réseau ferré de France, the French railway infrastructure authority, owns and manages the national railway system. It was created in 1997, in response to European Union legislation requiring separate management of railway infrastructure and operations. The English-language homepage is here.
SNCF: Société nationale des chemins de fer français, the French national railway administration. In 1997, RFF assumed ownership of infrastructure owned previously by SNCF, which then became the national rail passenger and freight operator. The English-language homepage is here.
Solvay SA: A chemicals and plastics manufacturer with headquarters in Brussels. The homepage is here. (It concluded an agreement during fall 2009 for sale of its pharmaceutical division to Abbott Laboratories.)
tonne / tonnes: Metric ton / tons. One metric ton = 1,000 kg. This in turn is equal to 2,205 lb., or 1.1 U.S. tons.
For Further Reading:
Klinger, Peter. “France will run trains free from fossil fuel, says Chirac.” Times Online, January 6, 2006.