Globally, only one in 50 new cars were fully electric in 2020, and one in 14 in the UK. Sounds impressive, but even if all new cars were electric now, it would still take 15-20 years to replace the world’s fossil fuel car fleet.
The emission savings from replacing all those internal combustion engines with zero-carbon alternatives will not feed in fast enough to make the necessary difference in the time we can spare: the next five years. Tackling the climate and air pollution crises requires curbing all motorised transport, particularly private cars, as quickly as possible. Focusing solely on electric vehicles is slowing down the race to zero emissions.
I don’t doubt this at all.
But it’s going to be 10 degreees Fahrenheit on my way to work tomorrow.
Public transit that doesn’t double my commute time is what’s going to get me to stop driving. Not a bike.
Why Canadians Can’t Bike in the Winter (but Finnish people can)
Tens of thousands of people cycle year round in Montreal.
Tampere has improved a lot in the last few years in terms of cycling infrastructure, I now commute by bike all year round, even when it was under -23°C for two weeks at the beginning of this year.
There could definitely be more improvements as segregated bike lane coverage can sometimes be a bit patchy still.