Reduction in CO2 Emissions by Substituting the UK Domestic Flights by Train within 10 years

PHYSICAL CHANGE:
REDUCTION IN CO2 EMISSIONS BY SUBSTITUTING THE UK DOMESTIC FLIGHTS BY TRAIN WITHIN 10 YEARS
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January 12, 2022
PHYSICAL CHANGE: REDUCTION IN CO2 EMISSIONS BY SUBSTITUTING THE UK DOMESTIC FLIGHTS BY TRAIN WITHIN 10 YEARS
I. INTRODUCTION
A noticeable and common trend among governmental bodies is environmental sustainability. Compared to earlier times, ecological sustainability and development that adhere to its principles are becoming a pressing schedule (Avogadro et al., 2021, p. 25). It may be noticed that several of these initiatives are focused on the air transport industry. Commercial aviation is responsible for approximately 14% of transportation-induced greenhouse gases at the European level (Avogadro et al., 2021, p. 25).
Air travel has its benefits. It is one of the fastest modes of travel. However, it is not without its downsides. Among all other contemporary modes of transportation, air transportation has the highest climate impact. Comparing long-haul and short-haul flights, it is the latter that produces the highest emissions per passenger. Fortunately, these short-haul flights are most easily replaceable by land-based transportation modes (Baumeister, 2019, p. 1).
The initiative of replacing airline travel, specifically domestic or short-haul trips, with land-based transportation has been called a "modal shift." This "modal shift" seeks to achieve more environmentally friendly transportation methods such as high-speed rail (HSR), buses, coaches, and rail (Avogadro et al., 2021, p. 25).
The issue of sustainability in the air transport industry is pushing legislative bodies toward ending short to medium-haul domestic flights and replacing them with alternative modes of transportation. The expansion of rail corridors and development in technologies in non-air transit, resulting in the overall increase in performance, has strengthened these attempts at modal shifts (Avogadro et al., 2021, p. 37).
In present contexts, in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, different European legislative bodies have taken up the opportunity to lay down policies with the environmental reformation of the transportation industry as an end in mind. For example, French lawmakers ultimately banned short-haul domestic flights with train alternatives in a recently concluded bailout agreement with Air France. The Austrian government's state aid package required its recipient to halve domestic flight carbon emissions by 2030, specifically by rescinding domestic flight routes already served by a high-speed rail connection (Avogadro et al., 2021, p. 26).
This essay seeks to contribute threefold to the discussion on modal shifts by analyzing: (1) effectivity, whether the modal shift will indeed bring about a significant reduction in emissions in the UK over ten years; (2) potential stockholder impact; and (3) the practicability of the modal shift.
II. EFFECTIVITY
There is an undeniable amount of literature on the effectiveness of a modal shift about the positive impact on economic sustainability.
In 2019, the transportation sector was the second-largest producer of CO2 emissions globally, with 24% of total emissions. Transportation was stated to h...