(Article from Journal 2022/10 Vol140 Pt4)
VISION: A RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE COMMUNITY THAT INSTINCTIVELY DELIVERS A ZERO-CARBON SUSTAINABLE RAILWAY
MISSION: RECOGNISING CLIMATE CHANGE AND DECARBONISATION CHALLENGES IN RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE, SHARING SOLUTIONS AND BEST PRACTICE, AND FOSTERING THEIR ADOPTION THROUGH COLLABORATION TO ENABLE POSITIVE CHANGE.
Our new President, Peter Dearman has made it very clear in his inaugural Journal article of the importance of climate change adaptation and decarbonisation in relation to railway infrastructure and this subject will form a core part of Peter’s work during his presidential term.
Peter makes the specific point about rail infrastructure engineers having an increasing influence in strategic decision making and although he has not referenced it, Peter has been a member of a National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC) working group looking at the role of hydrogen in a net zero energy system.
In September, the working group issued their final report on the subject and it can be accessed here.
Reading the report is useful CPD activity and it’s wonderful to see both Peter and the PWI referenced as contributors. The report examines the suitability of hydrogen for major applications across the economy, including industry, power, transport, heat and buildings. It recommends that while the best use of low-carbon hydrogen has yet to be determined, low-carbon hydrogen should be available for the end uses in which hydrogen deployment has the potential to become the best or only low or zero-carbon option available.
The NEPC’s analysis highlights, for example, that hydrogen is likely to become the most effective or the only viable decarbonisation option for some end uses such as primary steelmaking, industrial heating and as a chemical feedstock for industrial process. This will maximise hydrogen’s value to decarbonisation of the whole energy system and to closing the emissions gap to put the UK on track with its Fifth and Sixth Carbon Budgets and the 2050 net zero target.
You may recall in the April Journal, I included information on two videos the NEPC had produced in relation to Net Zero. An additional three videos have been completed which cover Energy, Transport and Implementation. The series investigates the engineering, policy, and human realities of a just transition to a net zero emission world – a transition that not only helps avert disasters but also brings real benefits to all. The videos are intended to inspire and provide knowledge; you may find them beneficial for use in team situations or your own personal viewing. Here are links to all five videos:
Episode one: What is a systems approach to net zero?
Episode two: The built environment
Episode three: Energy
Episode four: Transport
Episode five: Implementation
Two members of the PWI’s CCA & Decarb Committee, Chrisma Jain and Matt Gillen, have been leading a piece of work on how the PWI should respond to changes in UK SPEC (Engineering Council 4th Edition) where sustainability has a much greater focus as part of the professional registration process.
Chrisma and Matt have formed a small working group and have considered minimum scoring requirements for each grade of membership, annual CPD requirements and are in the process of developing specific exemplars in relation to rail infrastructure to help both candidates and reviewers.
We need to get to a place where sustainability considerations sit alongside safety, recognising it has taken many years of continued and ongoing effort to achieve this. For those interested in understanding more about the Engineering Council’s views on sustainability please visit:
www.engc.org.uk
Finally, I would like to thank all those people who took the time and trouble to submit a paper for the PWI’s Climate Change Adaptation and Decarbonisation Award. We are delighted to report we received a significant number of papers and selected volunteers from our committee are in the process of reviewing these. Final adjudication will take place by our Technical Director, Brian Counter and the winner will be announced at our celebration event in November.