Spain has maintained its sustainability objectives and has shown its commitment to the objectives set by the EU in these areas. Now, according to a study carried out by Mabrian Technologies, a company specialized in Tourist Intelligence, Spain would be the European country that would save the most in CO2 per year by replacing national flights of less than two and a half hours and with a maximum of 500 kilometers, by trains of high speed. Specifically, it could cut up to 67.6% of the emissions linked to tourist transport, that is; 360,000 tons of CO2 in the case of substitution of domestic flights by the means of rail transport.
The report by the tourism intelligence company has analyzed that in Europe there are 554 routes with these characteristics, which will transport some 44 million travelers and which will produce around 2.3 million tons of CO2 per year. Thus, Spain would be ahead of countries like Germany, in second place, which would save 238,000 tons of CO2; France, with 193,000 tons, Italy, with 189,000 tons; and Sweden, with 159,000 tons per year.
In Europe as a whole, this measure, already implemented in France, would save more than one million tons of CO2 in just one year, which is equivalent to 48.5% less annually. All this analysis has focused solely on domestic air routes within each country, therefore from different countries in Europe.
For the comparative calculation of emissions, the company has taken into account the type of electrical energy and its sources, which feed the railway system in each of the European countries, following the methodology published by the EcoPassenger report. The document on the potential impact that the replacement of air travel by high-speed trains would entail indicates that this reduction would be possible due to the greater efficiency, in terms of emissions, of this means of rail transport.
However, Mabrian’s Marketing Director, Carlos Cendra, explained that the context and difficulties for this change suggest an intermediate situation in which “the train gained prominence, but the plane continues to cover part of the demand.” In addition, the expert adds that “although this analysis may seem unrealistic or unattainable, Mabrian believes in demonstrating the efficiency of decisions through data. With this analysis, we have quantified the potential savings of taking steps in that direction.”
