If bicycles were used on a global scale for daily commuting, as they are in the Netherlands, how much greenhouse gas could be avoided?

If, like the Dutch, everyone cycled their daily commute instead of using a combustion-powered vehicle, we could avoid the emission of 700MtCO2e, equivalent to the UK's carbon footprint, or almost 2% of global emissions.

An Oxford study has shown that if everyone made one journey a day by bicycle, this would reduce transport-related emissions by around two-thirds per person. For a French person with an average carbon footprint of 9.9 tCO2e per year, and with transport accounting for around 2 tonnes of CO2e, this could save over 1.3 tCO2e per person per year, or 13% of the personal carbon footprint.

Bicycles are becoming an increasingly important part of our daily lives, as shown by the trend in bicycle production between 1962 and 2015. In the year of COP21, over 123 million bicycles were produced, nearly 80 million of them in China. Nevertheless, a study has shown that countries with high or middle incomes have more bicycle owners, but these countries also record higher car use. The use of bicycles is therefore not automatic, even when they are at hand, since in these countries, only 5% of journeys were made by bicycle.

Improving accessibility and infrastructure (cycle paths and secure parking, in particular) will be key to increasing bicycle use. Following the example of the Netherlands and Denmark, making towns and cities more bicycle-friendly will help encourage its use.

But cities and countries aren't limiting themselves to promoting the use of bicycles to reduce the footprint of daily and exceptional travel. For example, during the summer of 2022, the city of Berlin sold a €9 pass giving access to all the country's trains, buses, streetcars and subway trains. The aim was to encourage German consumers to use public transport rather than private cars. A logical consequence of this €9 transport pass objective is to reduce fuel consumption, and thus achieve energy savings in a tense international context.

Germany isn't the only nation experimenting with free public transport. Since 2020, Luxembourg has introduced free public transport for all. According to the Luxembourg government, this measure has prevented the emission of 290,000 tCO2e.

Transport is such an important issue today, because it is one of the most emitting sectors of activity, and one of the biggest consumers of fuel and energy in general, as well as a short-term lever for action.

In 2019, the transport sector was responsible for 24% of global emissions, behind electricity generation (41%) and ahead of industry and construction (19%). This is even more striking in France, where energy production has a low carbon content. In France, transport is responsible for 43% of GHG emissions, well ahead of the residential sector and industry and construction, which are responsible for 14% and 13% respectively.

This sector is one of the biggest emitters, not least because of its energy consumption. In 2021, the transport sector was responsible for 28% of final energy consumption, 95% of which came from oil.

In conclusion, it is vital for everyone to get involved and take steps to reduce their impact, because, as the IPCC reports, it is imperative to reverse the global emissions curve by 2025. With this in mind, the Dutch Formula 1 Grand Prix promoted responsible mobility for the 300,000 spectators who flocked to Zandvoort near Amsterdam. In fact, 35% of visitors came by bike, 35% by train, 15% by bus and 15% by other means of transport. The parking lot was located 7km from the circuit, with self-service bicycles and a track to the event. Although this is a particularly carbon-intensive activity, the organizers of the Dutch Grand Prix have put in place substantial measures to reduce the carbon impact associated with the organization of the event.