After the publication of a file on the fight against climate change, many of you wanted to read and exchange concrete tips to limit greenhouse gas emissions in your household. Every Sunday, we present one to you which will then be analyzed by the International Reference Center on the Life Cycle of Products, Processes and Services (CIRAIG).
Today, a tip from our reader Éric Gervais under the magnifying glass of Anne de Bortoli, guest researcher at CIRAIG and specialist in sustainable mobility and infrastructure.
Eric Gervais’ tip
Éric Gervais, from Saint-Georges, hardly ever uses his motorbike anymore. “I have burned only 180 L of gasoline since Halloween 2019,” he says proudly. He bought himself an electric bike made in Quebec, “sheltered from the elements”, which he uses year-round, even in winter. “If it’s too far for the electric, I’m not going”, he sums up.
Anne de Bortoli’s comments
When we compare the environmental performance of two modes of transport, we must consider their impacts at each stage of the life cycle: vehicle production, use, maintenance, end of life. Éric Gervais had the right reflex: “The electric bicycle is more efficient than the thermal motorcycle on all levels, indicates Anne de Bortoli. It generates a carbon footprint and a depletion of resources divided by 4, damage to human health reduced by half and damage to biodiversity divided by 3. In particular because the bicycle is lighter and because the Quebec electricity mix has a of the lowest impacts on the planet thanks to its high share of hydroelectricity. »The electric bicycle thus emits 15 g of CO equivalent2 per kilometer over 20,000 km of life, against 114 g for the average gasoline motorcycle (type 125 cc), indicates Anne de Bortoli. Battery recycling is still limited, agrees Anne de Bortoli, but it is a booming sector that will further reduce the impact of electromobility, she said. “Reusing these batteries as a second life to store the alternating production of renewable energies (wind power, photovoltaic) or recovering rare metals from batteries are all promising environmental avenues”, she concludes.