François Gemenne also wants to decarbonize our roads

Every Saturday we decipher climate issues with François Gemenne, professor at HEC, president of the Scientific Council of the Foundation for Nature and Man and member of the IPCC. Saturday January 13: the launch of the Alliance for Road Decarbonization.

This week we are interested in the Alliance for the decarbonization of the road, an initiative launched on December 12, 2023, by François Gemenne with several colleagues and academics. It is a group of researchers, industrialists and communities, who want to work to decarbonize the road, and to implement concrete solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by road traffic.

franceinfo: Why the road? Why is it important?

Because it is the main source of greenhouse gas emissions in France. In France, according to the High Council for the Climate, emissions from the transport sector are responsible for 32% of emissions. And the vast majority of these emissions are caused by road transport: 94% of transport emissions in France are from cars, trucks and utility vehicles. And above all, it is a sector whose emissions are hardly decreasing, unlike other sectors such as industry and construction. According to the European Environment Agency, emissions from the transport sector will be 10% higher in 2030 than in 1990.

There is the electric car, however…

Of course. And that’s important, but it’s not enough. Because there is also the question of infrastructure, of the road itself. If we do not equip the infrastructure, if we do not allow more modal shift, for example, if we do not invest more in public transport, we will not succeed.

“If we do not tackle the road, we will never succeed in achieving our goal of reducing emissions by 55% by 2030, at the national level.”

François Gemenne

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And so, how can we do it?

The problem is that as soon as we become attached to the car, the French have the impression that their individual freedom is being attacked, and we see that the support of the French for measures affecting the car is increasingly weak. What we are saying is that we need to decarbonize the road itself, not just the vehicles that drive on it.

But isn’t the solution simply the train?

The modal shift, towards the train in particular, or towards the bicycle for short journeys, is obviously part of the solution. But today, the overwhelming majority of everyday trips continue to be made by car, and even in cars in which we travel alone. So we absolutely must tackle these shows.

How can we do ? What are the solutions ?

The good news is that there are a lot of solutions, and these solutions are just waiting to be implemented. There is the transformation of our roads and highways, but also collective transport solutions: for example express coaches in rural or semi-rural regions. Or carpool lines, to allow people to share their cars. There are lots of things we can do. Technical or technological solutions, but also solutions of uses, practices, urban developments or road developments…

Why don’t we do it, then?

“The road has often been the poor relation of our decarbonization policies.”

François Gemenne

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This is why we are launching this alliance: to get all the people who have solutions and who want to implement them to work together. Car manufacturers, motorway concessionaires, carpooling professionals, public transport operators, construction companies, insurance companies, in conjunction with communities, of course. The idea is to propose concrete solutions, and then to see with the public authorities how it is possible to implement them. And we invite all those who are interested, who have solutions to propose, to join us.