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M-1A-2 - Active Transport Modes

(IPCC AR6 WG3 2022)1 defines active transport modes as:

Active travel is travel that requires physical effort, for example journeys made by walking or cycling.

Active transport is outlined in section 10.2.1 of (IPCC AR6 WG3 2022)1.

Mitigation Objective

The primary goal is for a shift from light-duty vehicles to walking and cycling for short journeys (5km or less).

Mitigation Potential

Potential

The literature referenced by the IPCC WG3 indicates a realistic mitigation potential span of 2-10% of emissions from ICE vehicles.

Case studies suggest that active mobility could reduce emissions from urban transport by 2% to 10% depending on the setting (Creutzig et al. 2016; Zahabi et al. 2016; Keall et al. 2018; Gilby et al. 2019; Neves and Brand 2019; Bagheri et al. 2020; Ivanova et al. 2020; Brand et al. 2021).

- (IPCC AR6 WG3 2022)1

The mitigation potentials from reductions in transport activity consider, for example, that “walking and cycle track networks can provide 20 % (5–40 % in sensitivity analyses) induced walking and cycle journeys that would not have taken place without the new networks, and around 15 % (0–35 % in sensitivity analyses) of current journeys less than 5 km made by car or public transport can be replaced by walking or cycling” (Sælensminde, 2004).

- (IPCC AR5 WG3 2014)2

Modeling studies of health and climate change in the context of urban transport show that a modal shift from car and motorcycle use toward walking and cycling could reduce GHG emissions by 38% in London and 47% in Delhi in 2030.

- (Creutzig et al. 2016)3

A reduction of close to 2% in GHG emissions is observed for an increase of 7% in the length of the bicycle network. ... As in other studies, it is found that cycling infrastructure accessibility is positively linked to bicycle usage, playing a positive role in reducing transportation GHG emissions, by shifting the mode share of bikes. Although this effect may appear small (about 1.7%), it is as big as the estimates we have found in our previous research when converting all the transit diesel buses to hybrid technology and electrifying the commuter trains in Montreal at the same time

- (Zahabi et al. 2016)4

... we estimated that shifting 41% of short car trips to walking and cycling had the potential to mitigate carbon emissions from car travel by 4.5%, or 1.15 KgCO₂-eq per person per week. This is equivalent to a mitigation potential from all surface transport of 4%.

- (Neves and Brand 2018)5

Modelling

This mitigation method has been modelled with the following Transition Elements:

Primary Reference

The primary reference for this mitigation measure is (IPCC AR6 WG3 2022)1.

Secondary References

TBD

Beyond Technology: Demand-Side Solutions to Climate Change Mitigation

Assessing the Potential for Carbon Emissions Savings from Replacing Short Car Trips with Walking and Cycling Using a Mixed GPS-Travel Diary Approach.

  1. IPCC AR6 WG3. 2022. Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Edited by Priyadarshi R. Shukla, Jim Skea, Raphael Slade, Alaa Al Khourdajie, Renée van Diemen, David McCollum, Minal Pathak, et al. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157926. ↩↩↩↩

  2. IPCC AR5 WG3. 2014. Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change: Working Group III Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Edited by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Ottmar Edenhofer. Cambridge University Press. ↩

  3. Creutzig, Felix, Blanca Fernandez, Helmut Haberl, Radhika Khosla, Yacob Mulugetta, and Karen Seto. 2016. “Beyond Technology: Demand-Side Solutions to Climate Change Mitigation.” Annual Review of Environment and Resources 41 (November). https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-110615-085428. ↩

  4. Zahabi, Seyed Amir, Annie Chang, Luis Miranda-Moreno, and Zachary Patterson. 2016. “Exploring the Link Between the Neighborhood Typologies, Bicycle Infrastructure and Commuting Cycling over Time and the Potential Impact on Commuter GHG Emissions.” Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 47 (August):89–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2016.05.008. ↩

  5. Neves, Andre, and Christian Brand. 2018. “Assessing the Potential for Carbon Emissions Savings from Replacing Short Car Trips with Walking and Cycling Using a Mixed GPS-Travel Diary Approach.” Transportation Research Part A Policy and Practice, August. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2018.08.022. ↩

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