Alstom support for COP19 low carbon transport agreement

Alstom, a global leader in power generation, power transmission and rail infrastructure, has expressed its commitment to the Warsaw statement on low-carbon transport and sustainable development that was adopted during "Transport Day 2013" at the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

The event was dedicated to sustainable, low-carbon transport, and was part of the 19th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP19) on 17 November, in Warsaw, Poland.

The statement was adopted in the context of a rapidly increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transport and the growing need for countries to enhance their current policies and investment programmes in order to reduce CO2 and black carbon emissions from land transport.

The Warsaw statement which Alstom endorsed contains recommendations on how to strengthen the integration of sustainable, low carbon transport in the UN climate change process, notably the new agreement on climate change which is due to be concluded in Paris in 2015.

Alstom is convinced rail will be a key solution to curb CO2 emissions from transport and contribute towards limiting global warming to 2°C. This endorsement is evidence of Alstom's commitment to designing and delivering sustainable global railway solutions that benefit everyone it serves: operators, public authorities and passengers.

Alstom contributes to sustainable transport through the integration of environmental criteria, and especially energy efficiency, at a very early stage of the design of its products, systems and services. Today, Alstom trains are currently more than 90 per cent recyclable and 97 per cent recoverable.

A world leader in delivering fully integrated mobility solutions, Alstom has recently launched a solution called Axonis - a turnkey, fully automatic metro system which can be installed and made operational in only three to four years and which reduces energy consumption of up to 40 per cent.

The metro system is equipped with Urbalis Fluence, the latest Alstom signalling solution, which enables to reduce intervals between trains, to provide higher capacity, even with fewer trains according to commercial speed, thus enhancing system efficiency and limiting overall environmental impacts.

In terms of CO2 emissions, Alstom's Citadis brand has helped to prevent more than four million tonnes of CO2 being released into the atmosphere since Citadis trams entered into service in 2000.

Modernisation can also significantly improve the energy efficiency of trains which have a life-time of over 40 years. Modernisation includes: regenerative braking usage for energy savings lower noise levels, hazardous substances removal and disposal, new seats etc. Alstom helps operators to benefit from high-performance environmental technology for their existing fleets. For example, in Mexico, Alstom was able to reduce the energy consumption of 30-year old metro trains by more than 35 per cent.