New Study Investigates Potential of Cycling to Reduce Emissions

EU wide reductions of GHG (greenhouse gas emissions) are under scrutiny by many critics as the progress and actual results seem to fall short of the goals set by the EU this year. Recent reports affirm that the EU will not achieve the reduction of transport emissions by 60% between 1990 and 2050 through technology alone.

An interesting take on the subject is revealed by a recent study authored by the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), which has quantified emissions savings of cycling compared with other modes of transport. Even taking into account the production, maintenance and fuel [food] related to bicycle use, emissions from cycling were over 10 times lower than those stemming from the passenger car.

Comparing cars, buses, electric assisted bicycles and normal bicycles, ECF investigated how cycling could help the EU achieve its 2050 GHG reduction targets for Transport. According to the study, if EU citizens were to cycle as much as the Danes in 2000, (an average of 2.6km a day), it would help the EU meet more than a quarter of the targeted emission reductions for the transport sector.

“Cycle 5kms a day and we reach 50% of the target,” notes the Author Benoit Blondel, ECF Environment and Health Policy Officer, adding that “the potential for cycling to achieve these targets is huge. And with such little effort. Getting more people on bikes is going to be a lot cheaper than say getting more electric cars on the road”.

The study also reinforced the European Environment Agency’s recent assessment that improvements in technology and fuel efficiency alone will not allow the EU to achieve its target of reducing transport emissions by 60%.

Blondel comments: “If we’re serious about meeting these targets we’re going to have to change our behaviour. It’s not about moving less. It’s about the way we move, and the transport choices governments make available”.

Key findings include:

• Emissions from cycling are over 10 times lower than those stemming from the passenger car, even taking into account the additional dietary intake of a cyclist compared with that of a motorised transport user.

• E-bikes, despite their electric assistance, have emissions in the same range as ordinary bicycles. Considering E-bikes allows for 56% longer daily commutes and substitutes the car for 39% of trips, they have a huge potential to further reduce transport emissions.

• Bicycle-share schemes also have the potential to reduce further emissions, considering it is a substitute for motorised transport for 50-75% of the users.

• If levels of cycling in the EU-27 were equivalent to those found in Denmark in 2000, bicycle use would achieve 26% of the 2050 GHG target set for the transport sector

• With EU crude oil imports at 955 million barrels per year, EU citizens cycling at Danish levels would reduce EU oil importations by close to 10%.

Article originally writtien by and posted on ECF.com. Here you will find the full study and infographics.