If everyone rode a bicycle every day, the world could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 700 million tonnes a year, equivalent to Canada’s annual emissions, according to a study published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment.
The transport sector—especially cars—is responsible for a quarter of current greenhouse gas emissions from global warming, and global demand for transport is expected to triple by mid-century.
Using a global database on bicycle ownership and use in 60 countries, a group of researchers was able to show that, although bicycle manufacturing surpassed that of automobiles between 1962 and 2015, the percentage of its use in daily commutes was of only 5% of the average.
In some countries, cycling is usually related to leisure activities, not a means of transport.
But if everyone cycled an average of 1 mile a day, the world would reduce CO emissions.two at around 414 million tonnes a year, equivalent to the UK’s annual emissions, the researchers calculate.
And with 2.6 kilometers of bicycle trips a day, emissions could be reduced by 686 million tonnes a year.
For Gang Liu, lead author of the study and professor in the department of green technologies at the University of Southern Denmark, the most interesting thing about the study is to show that the bicycle plays an important role in reducing the carbon footprint of transport, at a time when the debate tends to focus on electric cars.
