Tag Archive: carbon

  1. EU transport emissions continue to rise; Luxembourg, Austria, and Slovenia are largest contributors

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    Source: Mayor.eu, D. Balgaranov

    The latest European Environment Agency (EEA) report shows transport emissions have risen by 24% in the past 30 years.

    One very crucial takeaway from the EEA analysis is that, although carbon emissions from most sectors have fallen significantly between 1990-2020, they have increased in the transport sector. Additionally, the Austrian Automotive Club (Verkehrsklubs Österreich) published a complimentary analysis of transport emissions per capita per country based on the EEA data for 2020.

    According to the analysis, Luxembourg has the highest emissions per capita from transport at 7,355 kilograms of CO2 per capita. Next comes Austria with a considerably smaller 2,300 kilograms, and Slovenia with 2,180 kilograms. For comparison, the EU 27 average sat at 1,545 kilograms.

    Why Luxembourg?

    Data from Eurostat in 2019 placed Luxembourg as the country with the highest rate of car ownership (681 cars per 1,000 people). While this statistic could be argued to explain the country’s CO2 transport emissions, it loses significance when compared to Italy which has approximately 666 cars per 1,000 people, but places 22nd of the 27 European countries for transport-related CO2 emissions.

    The Luxembourg emission scenario becomes stranger still when considering the country’s free public transport policy, including cross-border travel. Transport specialists across Europe will be watching the country with interest in the coming years to see if it is able to successfully curb emissions.

    The EU 27 by emissions from transport, from the Austrian Automotive Club research:

    1. Luxembourg: 7,355 kilograms of CO2 per capita;
    2. Austria: 2,300 kilograms;
    3. Slovenia: 2,180 kilograms;
    4. Lithuania: 2,110 kilograms;
    5. Ireland: 1,930 kilograms;
    6. Denmark: 1,930 kilograms;
    7. Belgium: 1,795 kilograms;
    8. Finland: 1,785 kilograms;
    9. Germany: 1,720 kilograms;
    10. Estonia: 1,655 kilograms;
    11. Poland: 1,645 kilograms;
    12. Czech Republic: 1,625 kilograms;
    13. Latvia: 1,595 kilograms;
    14. Cyprus: 1,565 kilograms;
    15. France: 1,550 kilograms;
    16. Spain: 1,480 kilograms;
    17. Netherlands: 1,455 kilograms;
    18. Croatia: 1,435 kilograms;
    19. Portugal: 1,390 kilograms;
    20. Sweden: 1,355 kilograms;
    21. Bulgaria: 1,335 kilograms;
    22. Italy: 1,330 kilograms;
    23. Hungary: 1,270 kilograms;
    24. Greece: 1,255 kilograms;
    25. Slovakia: 1,250 kilograms;
    26. Malta: 970 Kilograms;
    27. Romania: 925 kilograms.
  2. 70% of British adults consider e-bikes to be a better tool than EVs for reducing carbon emissions

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    Source: BikeIsBest

    Research by BikeIsBest and the University of Westminster’s Active Travel Academy shows that the majority of attitudes in the UK toward e-bikes are positive. The study outlines a range of benefits and carbon reduction potential in comparison to electric vehicles (EVs).

    Conducted by YouGov, the study demonstrated broad support for e-bikes as a means of reducing carbon – even amongst those with no intention of purchasing one. Of adults who did not yet own an e-bike, one-fifth were considering purchasing one in the future, while 67% of participants stated cost as the largest single obstacle preventing purchase.

    The study touches on the potential of government policy to address this common barrier, such as subsidies or help-to-buy schemes. Whilst there is no national subsidy for e-bikes in the UK, there is for electric cars and motorbikes, despite these vehicles delivering lower health and carbon reduction benefits than e-bikes.

    The full study can be accessed here.

    The BikeIsBest campaign and Active Travel Academy highlight the following e-bike benefits in their latest report:

    Carbon emissions

    • According to research by Philips et al., “e-bikes are substantially lower emitters of carbon across their lifecycle when compared to both fossil-fuel and electric cars.”

    While e-bikes perform the same as battery electric vehicles in producing 0kg Scope 1 per km, research by Fyhri et al, states that they have substantially lower Scope 2 carbon emissions than electric vehicles due to their lower electrical power requirements. Additionally, when considering their full lifecycle emissions, including manufacture, maintenance, and disposal activities, e-bikes are substantially lower emitters of carbon in comparison to both fossil fuel and electric cars. According to the report prepared by #BikeIsBest and the Active Travel Academy, achieving widespread use of e-bikes as well as conventional bikes could replace three million car trips to work, and 10% of carbon emissions from commuting.

    Health

    • As stated in the transportation research by Castro et al., “E-bike users and users of conventional bicycles have comparable overall levels of physical activity, because e-bike users take longer trips.”

    The health benefits of e-bikes are similar to those of conventional bicycles. The physical activity required to ride e-bikes is less than that of bicycles; thanks to electrical assistance, riders can sustain a moderate cycling speed at a comfortable level of exertion across a range of otherwise challenging riding situations. Adding to this, e-bikes emit less particulate pollution than electric cars and thus have a positive impact on local air pollution.

    Economy

    • “Enabling more people to commute to work using e-bikes would increase life-expectancy and reduce absenteeism, with a potential health economic benefit of £2.2 billion per year,” according to the #BikeIsBest report.

    E-bikes present potential economic benefits besides those associated with improved health and reduced carbon. According to the #BikeIsBest and the Active Travel Academy report, in 2019, road congestion imposed an average of 115 hours of lost time to the average UK driver. This congestion is largely due to the lack of road space, which could be freed up if more space-efficient solutions were adopted, such as e-bikes. This not only applies to cars, but also, according to research by Verlinghieri et al., the use of (e)-cargo bikes could counteract even more congestion by replacing LGVs.

    Widening cycle use

    • According to the #BikeIsBest report, “because of their potential to reduce the physical exertion of cycling and therefore overcome barriers of fitness, topography, and proximity of housing to employment and other activities, users of e-bikes can encompass a wider diversity of age, gender, physical fitness and economic demographics than conventional bicycles.”

    E-bikes make it easy and practical for more people to make a wider range of trips by bike. A Swiss study found that middle-income groups were just as likely to use a conventional bike as an e-bike, both high- and low-income groups were more likely to use an e-bike (Rérat, 2021). This suggests that whilst e-bikes may appeal to higher earners as an additional transport option, they are also used by those on lower incomes as an alternative to more expensive transport options. As stated in research by Philips et al., e-bikes have been identified as a means to alleviate the economic vulnerability to increased motoring costs for those living in areas in the UK of high car dependency and low income. Adding to this, the research also suggests that e-bikes could appeal more to people of different ages and genders – as opposed to the predominantly male appeal of conventional bicycles.

  3. Sharing the calculation methodology of the ‘Cleanest Dirt Bike Ever’ – CAKE

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    Following the last announcement of an Open Source project between Vattenfall & LEVA-EU member, CAKE, with the aim to commercialize the first fossil-free vehicle to be launched 2025, CAKE releases the calculation methodology (Life Cycle Assessment) behind the project.

    The ambition is to minimize the CO2 footprint of the Kalk OR dirt bike to as close as zero as possible without offsetting. The process will combine success with disappointments that will be shared transparently with the aim to inspire and accelerate the obligation and transition of the industry towards zero emissions.

    Sharing the methodology to inspire stakeholders

    Since 2021, the project team has taken the complete Kalk OR apart and analyzed each component to conclude the total production footprint of 1,186 kg CO2e as a starting point. The methodology behind calculating this footprint, via a life cycle assessment (LCA), has been openly released to the public on the CAKE website. The system boundary for this Cleanest Dirt Bike Ever project, which defines what is taken into consideration and what is excluded, includes every single part and process of the bike. It also restricts all offsetting.

    Helping the general public grasp environmental impact

    So how much is 1,186 kg CO2e? Buzz words like carbon footprint and environmental impact when talking about bikes, and products in general, can be abstract and tough to understand. To bridge this gap, CAKE and Vattenfall launched THE CUBE to visualize the equivalent volume of carbon dioxide, 1,186 kg CO2e, that the CAKE Kalk bike emits during production, and thus what the project aims to reduce to zero.

    In addition to visualizing the CO2 footprint with THE CUBE, the partners of the Cleanest Dirt Bike Ever are taking the next step to explain the calculation methodology behind the numbers; Life cycle assessment (LCA). As only a handful of stakeholders know what an LCA is, and how to perform one, the published article takes the reader step-by-step through the process of performing an LCA and its results.

    Learn more about the steps behind an LCA and how the project partners calculated the footprint of the Cleanest Dirt Bike Ever.

    About the project

    Going fossil free isn’t just about how things are powered, it’s about removing the carbon from how things are sourced, made, transported, and assembled. So, while electric vehicles are a good start, they don’t take us far enough.

    Solving the greatest challenge in human history demands that we rethink conventional ways of doing things. It demands that we break silos and collaborate far beyond industry borders. And it demands we do it today, because the future can’t wait. The project essentially combines CAKE’s expertise in innovation and engineering with Vattenfall’s expertise in electrifying industries and decarbonizing entire production chains.

    Together the collaboration will reinvent the wheel, the suspension, the saddle, and every other part of the CAKE Kalk OR with the aim of making the first truly fossil-free vehicle. The team will reduce its current estimated carbon weight of 1,186 kg CO2e to an absolute minimum by 2025, making what they claim to be ‘the cleanest dirt bike ever’. Every single setback, breakthrough, and finding will be shared along the way to inspire others.

  4. Vattenfall and CAKE reveal hidden CO2 sources when producing an electric motorcycle by demonstrating carbon footprint with a cube

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    Stefan Ytterborn: “The term fossil-free vehicles is greenwashing until the entire production part has been decarbonized, regardless of the fuel they are running on”

    Vattenfall, a leading European energy company, and LEVA-EU member CAKE, the Swedish maker of premium lightweight, electric motorcycles, today announced an innovative initiative for visualizing carbon emissions from production. Within the joint project “Cleanest Dirt Bike Ever”, CAKE and Vattenfall are revealing the climate impact of producing one CAKE Kalk OR electric offroader by placing it in a cube, 8.6 meters tall, that represents the volume of carbon emissions created in the production of the bike – 637 cubic meters, equal to 1,186 kg CO2e.

    The popular term fossil-free vehicles is greenwashing until the entire production has been decarbonized, regardless of the fuel they are running on. In fact, most companies do not know the carbon footprint of their own products. To understand and tackle our own impact, we have measured the emissions from our entire production chain for one CAKE Kalk OR, and started to decarbonize every step to a minimum by 2025. By doing so, our second most important contribution to the planet is to inspire other manufacturers to step up and do the same,” says Stefan Ytterborn, founder and CEO of CAKE.

    Annika Ramsköld, Head of Corporate Sustainability at Vattenfall commented:

    Vattenfall works to achieve fossil-free living within one generation and is dedicated to finding partnerships that inspire and break barriers. This is one such project, where our main contribution is the broad knowledge in fossil free solutions and electrification of industries we have acquired over decades from our own as well as other industries.

    Cleanest Dirt Bike Ever – revealing climate impact

    Within the project Cleanest Dirt Bike Ever, Vattenfall and CAKE have been collaborating since 2021 with the aim to produce the first ever truly fossil-free vehicle – the CAKE Kalk OR electric offroader. The first step in the decarbonization process was taking the bike apart and measuring the impact, from a climate perspective, of every individual part. The two companies worked together to quantify the carbon emissions from step one of the manufacturing process for each component as well as final assembly – from raw material to finished product.

    The life cycle assessment (LCA) concluded that producing one CAKE Kalk OR currently results in emissions of 1,186 kg CO2e, equal to a volume of 637 cubic meters. Every successful step taken results in shrinking the volume. The route to fossil-free production will involve both CAKE and its existing suppliers, as well as a number of innovative producers of alternative components and materials that offer opportunities for emissions to be further reduced.

    An integral part of the Cleanest Dirt Bike Ever collaboration between Vattenfall and CAKE will be the cube, a three-dimensional visualization of the carbon footprint from production. The visualization itself is an innovative approach to building a broad understanding of an urgent global issue that is often talked about, but difficult to comprehend. The objective of the cube is to raise awareness among consumers, inspire the manufacturing industry in general, and position Vattenfall and CAKE as leaders in the transition to fossil-free production.

    The many misperceptions of fossil-free

    Anything that is produced results in a certain carbon footprint. Consumers can make a large difference by consuming less and more consciously if they are given the opportunity to understand what fossil-free means. For instance, research has shown that 83 percent of all EV owners believe that they are already doing enough for the climate. The reality is that an electric car results in carbon emissions of 35 tonnes when produced, a figure that manufacturers are rarely able to provide.

    Carbon emissions from producing different products (weight and volume):

    – A pair of jeans: 33 kg CO2e, 18 m3

    – Beef, 1 kg: 60 kg CO2e / 32 m3

    – Using up a full tank (60 liters) of gasoline in a car:

    – Petrol: 182 kg CO2e / 97 m3

    – Diesel: 206 kg CO2e / 110 m3

    – CAKE Kalk OR electric motorcycle: 1,186 kg CO2e / 637 m3

    – A 46 inch LED television: 1,334 kg CO2e / 713 m3

    – A mid-size electric car: 25-35 tonnes CO2e / 13,359-18,703 m3

  5. AureusDrive – riding towards carbon neutrality

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    LEVA-EU member AureusDrive partners with Arbofino in a large tree-planting initiative

    In a bold step toward CO2 neutrality, the e-bike brand will be responsible for a 200 teak tree plantation in Manabi, Ecuador. Over 20 years this plantation will compensate upwards of 115 tonnes of carbon. Following the growth period, trees can be harvested, with profits used to plant further trees; this creates a circular carbon sequestration scheme. Additionally, AureusDrive will reforest 1/8 hectares of jungle in the same location.

    The next step is calculation of grey energy usage during e-bike manufacturing and disposal, from here a further compensation plan can be made.

    Find more details on Arbofino here.

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