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Chicago conference looking into ways to make transportation more sustainable
A major conference in Chicago this week was focused on finding sustainable solutions to some of the nation's biggest environmental problems, and one major concern was transportation.
Emissions from cars and trucks are among the greatest sources of air pollution in the Chicago area. With Illinois' air pollution worse than the national average, experts are talking about ways to change that.
At the Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress in downtown Chicago this week, global leaders gathered to focus on solutions for making transportation more sustainable and better for the environment; whether it be planes, trains, buses, or cars.
"Chicago really has the ability to be sort of an epicenter for climate leadership," said Erik G. Birkerts, Chief Growth Officer at LanzaJet, a sustainable fuel technology company.
Imad Al-Qadi, the Director of the Illinois Center for Transportation, said transportation is responsible for 29% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States – known to have an impact on health and the environment. In Chicago, transportation accounts for 32% of greenhouse gas emissions.
"We are at a point where we can make a big change," Al-Qadi said. "We have a very aggressive program to reduce the energy that is generated from the coal."
As part of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act passed in 2021, Illinois has a goal to achieve 100% clean energy by 2050.
"Transportation is one of these sectors that is known to be as hard to decarbonize," Birkerts said.
So what's happening in Chicago, and what more can be done to reach the state's clean energy goal?
Spokespeople for the CTA said the agency is environmentally conscious, and after successfully deploying two electric buses in 2014, they have plans to add 20 to 30 more in the next few years.
A spokesperson for Metra said the rail agency this week won a more than $23 million award to buy three battery-electric switch locomotives, replacing some of Metra's oldest, most-polluting diesel locomotives.
"The purchase, which will comply with the federal Build America Buy America Act, will serve as a pilot project to test battery-electric technology for railroad locomotives. Metra will also provide $5.8 million as the local match for the project. The project is expected to go out to bid later this year," the agency said.
Pace representatives said they are also focused on sustainability, noting the agency recently broke ground on its first all-electric bus facility in Waukegan.
"Our Project Zero initiative is focused on sustainability. All of the program goals and milestones are on the project webpage," a spokesperson said in an email.
"The public transportation is always saving in the emission anyway," Al-Qadi said.
