Leave the car at home

The figures are clear: private cars are responsible for 12 percent of CO₂ emissions in the EU. While emissions are going down in other sectors, vehicle emissions continue to increase. There is no doubt that the environment would benefit from a reduction in the use of cars. At the same time we know that society without cars is unrealistic. But their use can be limited.

Vauban is a new suburb of Freiburg in Germany. The suburb was created to be a sustainable model for other city areas. Its houses are built to be as energy efficient as possible. Vehicular traffic is limited to the main street, along which the tram to the centre of Freiburg runs. There are parking lots, but they are expensive and are located on the outskirts of the city. People use bikes, walk or take the tram. In fact, the car-free life has captured so many hearts that 70 percent of the households now manage without a car at all.

You don’t need to go as far as the residents of Vauban to live in a slightly more environmentally-friendly fashion. But a change of attitude is necessary, and perhaps an understanding of what we are actually doing when we turn the ignition key. To quote from the British newspaper The Guardian: “One-quarter of all car journeys is less than two miles. By walking 3 km you use up about half the energy in a small bar of chocolate. The same distance by car expends 10 times as much energy but from the wrong source.”

There is an increasing desire to live in an environmentally-friendly manner. Therefore initiatives that make it more tempting for people to reduce their own CO₂ emissions are extremely important, for instance, the expansion of the public transportation network, better bicycle paths, or travel remuneration for cycling to work.