Consumers switch to greener technology when refueling and heating otherwise become too expensive. That is the idea behind the CO2 price. But it also applies to a mode of transport that is considered to be less harmful to the climate.
Deutsche Bahn expects additional costs in the millions due to the new CO2 price. According to her own estimates, she will have to spend 40 to 50 million euros on this this year.
By 2026, the annual amount could rise to 105 to 135 million euros, as the Federal Government’s rail commissioner, Enak Ferlemann, announced in a response to an inquiry from the FDP transport politician Torsten Herbst.
It remains to be seen whether this will have any impact on fares. If the train increases prices, it usually announces this in autumn for the winter timetable.
The railway is one of the largest energy consumers in the country. It burns around 250 million liters of diesel annually. Many of their buildings are heated with gas or oil. It is not yet possible to make predictions about the actual amount of CO2 that will occur, according to Ferlemann’s answer, which is available to the German Press Agency.
The group has set itself the goal of becoming climate neutral by 2040. To this end, Deutsche Bahn is also testing the possibility of refueling trains with fuels that consist entirely or in part of residual and waste materials.
The CO2 price has been in place for transport and heating since the beginning of the year. This should help to reduce the emission of climate-damaging carbon dioxide (CO2) that is produced when diesel, gasoline, heating oil and natural gas are burned. 25 euros are due per ton. The price is to rise gradually to 55 euros by 2025.
“The numbers clearly show how much Deutsche Bahn is still dependent on fossil fuels,” said the FDP politician in autumn. Almost 40 percent of the rail network is not electrified. “The further electrification is only progressing at a snail’s pace,” criticized Herbst. The approval process would have to be accelerated, as would the development of the infrastructure for alternative drives such as hydrogen.
The railway covers a good 61 percent of its annual electricity requirement of around ten terawatt hours from renewable energy sources. 100 percent should be achieved in 2038. To this end, almost 190 gigawatt hours of hydropower electricity will be drawn from Mågeli, Norway, from 2023, as Deutsche Bahn announced on Thursday. This means that the around 40,000 daily trains in Germany can be operated for a week, it said. In addition, the railway secured hydropower electricity from the Black Forest and wind electricity from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
