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Cycling to Meet Europe’s Greenhouse Gas Reductions


December 13, 2011

By Itir Sonuparlak

Read More: http://thecityfix.com/blog/cycling-t...hg-reductions/

The climate change policy talks in Durban finally wrapped up and participating nations agreed to pursue a new course of action in the global fight against climate change. Despite the inspiring agreement, one thing is still unclear and that is the strategy with which the world’s nations will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve limited temperature rise. Perhaps the new study from the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) on how cycling can reduce greenhouse gas emissions can play a role in defining that strategy.

- The study finds that if cycling across the EU’s 27 nations was as widespread as it is in Denmark alone, then bicycling can help reduce the total greenhouse gas emissions for the transportation sector by up to 26 percent. Though, the percentage reduction would vary depending on which transport mode the bicycle replaces. This could go a long way in helping the EU achieve its much-needed goal of a 60 percent GHG reduction for the transportation sector by 2050.

- If we consider the current GHG reduction targets of the EU, an individual would only be able to travel 2,170 kilometers (1,348 miles) by car, 5,822 kilometers by bus (3,618 miles), and 28,000 kilometers (17,398 miles) by bicycle per year. So basically, if you wanted to limit your driving to meet the EU GHG reductions, you would only be able to drive 1,348 miles per year, which, if you’re traveling at 60 miles per hour, would be about only 23 hours of continuous driving per year.

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