There’s a question that people interested in green issues should ask themselves before they decide about HS2, the proposed new high speed railway.
“Will HS2 definitely help us reduce carbon emissions?”
HS2 Ltd have looked into this. They say “the impact of HS2 on carbon emissions is both complex and highly uncertain.” (P178 of their main report.)
They say that there will be some negative effects on transport emissions from running HS2.
They say that the overall effect of running HS2 could be increased carbon emissions.
They say that at most HS2 might produce a reduction of 0.3% of transport emissions in the UK.
HS2 Ltd’s own conclusion (p180) is that ” HS2 would not be a major factor in managing carbon in the transport sector.”
HS2 cannot be part of a strategy to reduce carbon emissions: the promoters of the scheme tell you that. If carbon emissions matter to you, decide carefully about HS2.