The International Union of Railways (UIC) has called for explicitly including transport within the shared vision of long-term cooperative action of the UNFCCC Parties negotiations at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen, which it said is vital for the development of sustainable transport systems, with rail playing a fundamental role.

According to UIC, a worldwide organization for international cooperation among railways, on a global scale, transport is responsible for 23 percent of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which cause global warming.

"Given the role that transport plays in causing greenhouse gas emissions, any serious action on climate change will zoom in on the transport sector," said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of UNFCCC.

The real challenge lies in the fact that while other sectors have managed to reduce their emissions, the transport sector emissions have been steadily increasing, said UIC, which has 200 members on all five continents and is headquartered in Paris.

Despite all the technological advances, transport is not developing in a sustainable manner. The main reason is the enormous increase in demand for both passenger and freight services.

"Transport energy use and carbon emissions are projected to be about 80 percent higher than current levels by 2030," said Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chairman of IPCC.

Nowadays the road sector is responsible for over 80 percent of the sector's energy consumption. Emissions from the aviation sector are increasing rapidly. Today aviation is the second largest emitter of CO2, accounting for more than 13 percent of the total transportation energy used in Europe -- emitting at a higher altitude and thus creating more damage than indicated by the percentage figure.

UIC argues that railways are crucial in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and developing sustainable transport systems because they provide the most energy efficient performance both in passenger per km and tones per km. For example, a journey from Brussels to Copenhagen by plane or car produces over 3.5 times more emissions than by train.

(Xinhua News Agency December 6, 2009)