China News Service, Beijing, August 19 (Reporter Sun Zifa) How effective is cycling in reducing carbon emissions?
Springer Nature's "Communications-Earth and Environment" recently published a transportation research paper that gives a considerable amount of quantitative data: If everyone on the planet rides a bicycle 1.6 kilometers a day - similar to the riding pattern in Denmark, the global It may save 414 million tons of carbon emissions per year, and if everyone rides a bicycle 2.6 kilometers a day - similar to the riding pattern in the Netherlands, the world may reduce carbon emissions by 686 million tons per year.
The animation shows the number of bicycles per capita and the number of private cars per capita from 1962 to 2015. The countries identified by the trend lines are the United States, Denmark, Italy, China and Angola.
Photo courtesy of the author of the paper
The findings are based on a global assessment of bicycle production, ownership, and use by country from 1962 to 2015.
The transportation sector accounts for a quarter of global fuel-related greenhouse gas emissions, half of which come from private vehicles, including passenger cars and trucks, the paper said.
Cycling is known to reduce emissions, but bicycles make up only a small part of transportation in most countries.
Historical patterns of global bicycle production, trade, inventory, and usage have not been well characterized to fully investigate the role of bicycles in sustainable road transport.
Corresponding author of the paper, Gang Liu of the University of Southern Denmark in Denmark, and collaborators compiled a global dataset covering bicycle ownership and use by country from 1962 to 2015.
They found that global bicycle production grew faster than cars during this period, with China accounting for 65.7% of global bicycle production in 2015, followed by Brazil at 5%, India at 4%, Italy at 2% and Germany at 2%.
They also found that high bicycle ownership does not necessarily equate to high bicycle use - cycling accounts for less than 5% of daily trips in most countries around the world.
The authors of the paper pointed out that if people followed Denmark's bicycle usage pattern, that is, cycling 1.6 kilometers a day, it might save 414 million tons of carbon emissions per year, equivalent to the UK's annual carbon emissions in 2015.
If it followed the bicycle usage pattern in the Netherlands, it could reduce carbon emissions by 686 million tons per year.
The authors of the paper stated that there is an urgent need to promote sustainable cycling through global policy planning and infrastructure construction, including tax and fee policies to guide less driving, encourage cycling education and promote cycling culture, and effective bicycle lane planning and construction.
They concluded that huge climate benefits could be unleashed if a global adoption of pro-cycling policies and infrastructure similar to those in Denmark and the Netherlands were implemented.
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