KCS Targets Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Kansas City Southern has pledged to set a science-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction target that it said “will align with what climate scientists say is needed to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.”

Kansas City Southern has submitted a letter to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) committing to setting a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target.

The target “will align with what climate scientists say is needed to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels,” KCS said. The commitment letter to SBTi—a partnership of CDP, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institute (WRI), and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)—builds off steps the Class I railroad has already taken to lower emissions, including work to improve fuel efficiency and investments in fuel-saving technologies during implementation of Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR).

The first step in the process, according to SBTi, is the commitment letter, which is followed by work on an emissions reduction target in line with SBTi criteria and recommendations, submission of the target to SBTi for validation, and a formal announcement and annual disclosure of the target. About 1,146 companies are currently working with SBTi. Also in the commitment stage are Canadian Pacific, Union Pacific, and the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, among others. CSX, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Alstom are among those that have already set targets.

“Kansas City Southern has long recognized the important role that rail plays in lowering overall transportation emissions,” President and CEO Patrick J. Ottensmeyer said. “Our pledge to issue a science-based target reinforces our commitment to further improving fuel efficiency and lowering emissions in support of a more sustainable North American supply chain.”