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8
CONCLUSIONS
This report has discussed various logistical and engineering based concepts that would drastically reduce the
environmental impact of transport and traffic congestion without having to dispense with private motor vehicles.
The methods themselves don’t only reduce primary energy use but also allow the potential of zero or low carbon
sources to deliver that energy by electrifying the transport network.
Whilst these approaches would be sufficient without growth, they need to be supported using other measures
such as telecommunications improvements, traffic restrictions, or fiscal incentives to ensure any convenience
gained by their implementation aren’t negated by increased transport use.
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Indeed the environmental challenges
are so great they are best tackled by on a number of fronts simultaneously, such as limiting global population
and refocusing our economic priorities on quality of life, as well as the technical ones.
Two methods are discussed which can be used to reduce the energy used per passenger km. This is achieved in
two ways:
a)
increasing conventional car passenger utilisation via a co-ordinated, rapid response, public car sharing
system and
b)
building an infrastructure to accommodate radically smaller thinner cars so they are suited to the most
common occupancy of the vehicle (1 or 2 people). Further efficiency gains can be by allowing these modes
to use priority access schemes during busy periods, which should improve mobility and also help them gain
wider acceptance.
Genuinely renewable fuels that can directly replace petroleum are limited in quantity and burning them in power
stations with fossil fuels can save a greater amount of CO2 than refining them into liquid transportation fuel.
Therefore an infrastructure must be built which can transfer the energy generated in low carbon emitting power
stations via electricity. This comprises two further concepts
c) increasing the range of battery electric cars by the use of a ferrying system, and
d) adapting part of the railway and road infrastructure for charging electrically powered heavy vehicles on-
route.
Whilst the primary purpose of these methods would be to reduce CO2 emissions, these also offer many other
commercial and environmental advantages such as reduced road traffic, faster transit and substantially improved
air quality.
Initially these technologies would accommodate fossil fuel vehicles. Figure 34 summarises the CO2 emissions
that would be produced from using the various passenger transport options using present fuels and UK
generating methods. However, when used in combination with renewables, CCS and nuclear electricity: the
COAST, LOCI, ELECAT and INITIATE concepts offer the potential of a complete near zero-carbon land
transportation system.
Reducing aircraft greenhouse gas emissions presents the most difficult challenge of all due to the limited
technical transport alternatives available and the high rate of growth of this industry. However, the introduction
of a high-speed electric rail system such as MAGLEV together with various offsetting and avoidance measures
such as teleconferencing offers an alternative for most business and short distance tourist requirements. These
methods also complement the other changes suggested here for surface transport.
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