"Deutsche Bahn endorses the United Nations' target of restricting global warming to two degrees," declared Dr. Rüdiger Grube, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of Deutsche Bahn AG, at a panel discussion with Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme UNEP, held in Berlin today. At the Climate Conference in Copenhagen in December, the participating countries fundamentally accepted the principle that global warming should not exceed two degrees.

The focal items discussed by the panel, which was made up of representatives from the fields of business, politics and environmental organisations, included an analysis of the results of the Copenhagen Climate Summit and also the next steps to be taken en route to a carbon-free economy, especially for the transport sector. "Transport has the fastest growth rate for global CO2 emissions. We are now faced with the challenge of reducing CO2 emissions whilst simultaneously preserving mobility. This can only be achieved by supporting rail as a climate-friendly transport mode," declared Grube on behalf of Deutsche Bahn. "A significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions gives us the opportunity on the one hand to combat climate change, and on the other hand to steer the national economies towards more efficient use of resources coupled with low carbon emissions. Rail can be a crucial catalyst for initiating that transition process," stated the UNEP Director.

ICE-Train in front of wind power stations, HSR-Line Berlin-Hanover

Both sides agree that business enterprises cannot afford to wait until legal restrictions are imposed, but have to increase their own proactive efforts to provide carbon-free products and services. To do so is to invest in the future and promote a sustainable economy. With that aim in mind, DB is about to sign a long-term power supply contract for the purchase of electric current from Märkisch Linden wind farm operated by the Bremen utility company swb. The contract will be signed for a term of 19 years and involves an annual current quantity of approx. 59 gigawatt-hours (GWh). The annual current generated by the wind farm is sufficient to run six ICE 3 trains on renewable energy for a whole year. Last year, an ICE 3 performing around 500,000 kilometres had an average consumption of roughly ten GW for the year. DB is the sole user of Märkisch Linden wind farm. "By purchasing our electric current from the wind farm, we are raising the share of renewable energy in the traction current mix and simultaneously corroborating our ambitious climate protection targets," stated Dr. Rüdiger Grube. Renewable energy already accounts for a share of approx. 16 per cent of traction current and Deutsche Bahn plans to raise that share to 30 per cent by the year 2020. DB has set itself the target of reducing the specific CO2 emissions of all means of transport operated by the Group worldwide by 20 per cent between 2006 and 2020. Since 2002, around 19,000 train drivers have been given practical training in energy-saving driving patterns. This has led to savings of more than 280,000 tonnes of CO2 in both passenger and freight transport since the programme was first launched. All modern multiple units and locomotives used by Deutsche Bahn are equipped with three-phase traction, so that during braking sequences, the kinetic energy of the train can be converted into electric current which is fed back into the overhead line. In the year 2008 alone, this recovered braking energy saved around 820 gigawatt hours, which is equal to around 8 per cent of total traction current consumption.

Before ordering new shunting locomotives, DB expects the industry to examine the potential for equipping the locomotives with drive systems which already satisfy the limit values that will apply in future. Stricter legal limits for rail-induced pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, will enter into force in 2012. Grube called on the rail industry to continue to develop the drive technology for locomotives so that not only soot particulates, but also other pollutants can be avoided.

DB already plays a pioneering role in climate protection in the transport sector. Since 1990, it has already reduced its specific CO2 emissions by rail by almost 40 per cent. It has also launched a new "Environment Plus" product which gives both business and freight customers the option of choosing rail products which run solely on current from renewable energy sources. Further information about the highly diverse activities of DB and the DB Eco Program for climate protection is available on the Internet at www.dbecoprogram.com.