The European Union Cyclists’ Group (EUCG) believes that cycling is actually more environmentally friendly than we predicted.

You may remember ECF’s CO2 study from last year. According to our calculations, if EU citizens were to cycle as much as the Danes in 2000, (an average of 2.6km a day), it would help the EU meet up to a quarter of the targeted emission reductions for the transport sector.

But did we get it wrong? In our calculations, we took a very conservative approach and included the emissions related to fuel (i.e. the food) required to cycle. The EUCG, which groups together 1300 cycling professionals working within the European institutions, thinks that we have overestimated bicycle emissions by doing so.

Commenting on our study, the EUCG states that: “These assumptions are realistic for a fleet of cars operating on oil-based fuel, but are rather simplistic when applied to human beings and food.”

ECF is happy that some disagree with our conservative approach to cycling and CO2 emissions. At the end of the day, it paints an even prettier picture of the bicycle.

Further Reading

You can find a copy of the our original study here.

EUCG’s comments on our study can be found here.

About the Author

Benoit Blondel is the Environment Policy Officer for ECF and the author of ECF’s famous CO2 Study.