By foot or by car? Pick the first!
This article is created for the project “Efivos in Europe”
Author: Sashko Sashov
Transportation is one of the main causes of air pollution and the largest source of harmful emissions.
Dirty cars – dirty air
Cars, trucks, and buses running on fossil fuels are responsible for the air pollution. In fact, transportation accounts for more than half of the nitrogen oxides in our air and is a major source of harmful emissions. Studies link pollutants from vehicle exhaust to adverse effects on almost all organs and systems in the human body. What’s worse, exposure to pollution is unjust. The harms disproportionately affect people with lower incomes.
Dirty air poses significant risks to human health and the environment, but through clean technologies and fuels, we can significantly reduce emissions from our vehicles and participate in transforming transportation.
Cars, trucks, and buses pollute the air throughout their entire lifecycle, including emissions released during the operation of the vehicle and the production of fuel. Additional emissions are associated with the refining and distribution of fuels, and to a lesser extent, with the production, disposal, or recycling of the vehicle.
The EU aims to achieve a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from transport by 2050 compared to 1990 levels. This is part of its efforts to reduce carbon emissions and achieve climate neutrality by 2050, as outlined in the European Green Deal roadmap.
Significantly reducing CO2 emissions from transportation won’t be easy, as the pace at which this was expected to be achieved has slowed down. Recent forecasts project a reduction in emissions by only 22% by 2050, which falls far short of European ambitions.
The possible personal contribution
One of the recommended alternatives is the use of electric vehicles. But would this contribute to less pollution?
It has already been proven that the production and harmful emissions of electric cars are less environmentally damaging than those of internal combustion engine cars. The level of emissions from electric vehicles varies depending on how the electricity is produced.
However, considering the average energy mix in Europe, electric vehicles already appear to be cleaner than gasoline-powered vehicles. As the share of electricity from renewable sources is expected to increase in the future, electric cars should become even less harmful to the environment, especially considering the EU’s plans to make batteries more sustainable.
Another possible way to reduce harmful vehicle emissions is to increase the fuel efficiency of new cars. However, in this regard, there is also a delay, and the efforts of the EU in this area have not yet yielded results.
From this, it follows that currently the only effective ways to make a personal contribution to reducing harmful emissions are to limit the use of personal vehicles, as they cause the most serious pollution. Other options include walking whenever possible, using public transportation, and participating in carpooling.
The article was created as part of the CERV Efivos project in Europe. EFIVOS II program is funded by the European Commission (CERV), with partners Network Children’s Rights (Greece), CIP (Cyprus), HESED (Bulgaria), GEYC (Romania), Dedalus (Italy), Pacto Verde (Spain), Crossing Borders (Denmark).
The support of the European Commission for the preparation of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the content. The publication reflects only the views of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use of the information contained therein.
