The Electric Bicycle in Combating Climate Change

By Tallita Marão, ESG Coordinator at Tembici, and Maysa Rocha, ESG Analyst at Tembici

June 2023

Usually, riding a bicycle is one of the most emblematic activities for children, serving as a source of fun and learning among parents and children, cousins, siblings, and friends. Taking off the training wheels in childhood is one of the first lessons it imparts about courage and confidence. However, as the years go by and adulthood arrives, we may overlook the powerful tool it is: an active and non-polluting means of transportation. The bicycle brings to mind moments of play and leisure, but have you ever considered that this mode of transportation has the potential to transform the mobility of urban cities and contribute to addressing the climate crisis?

In 2020, the milestone of 50% of the global population living in cities was reached [1]. This means that approximately 4 billion people live in urban areas today, and this percentage could reach 60% by 2070. The rapid process of urbanization and the popularization of motor vehicles have led to the construction and logistics of cities being designed around the integration of cars, creating a common belief that urban travel is only possible through cars.

This current urban logic entails high social costs, including loss of human lives, pollution, destruction of living space, congestion, and loss of people’s mobility [2]. In this regard, mobility in cities needs to consider planning focused on sustainable development, where active modes of transportation should be prioritized in traffic (Figure 1).

Figure 1 — Transport Priority Pyramid — ITDP Brazil — Prepared by the author

In terms of pollution, automobiles directly contribute to the increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Greenhouse Effect is a natural atmospheric phenomenon where gases accumulate and form a layer in the atmosphere that traps solar radiation, warming the planet and enabling the development of life on Earth. However, with industrialization and significant population growth, GHG emissions have increased significantly, greatly altering the amount of these gases in the atmosphere and generating what we call Climate Change, with potentially devastating consequences in the near future. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) states that about half of the anthropogenic (human-caused) CO2 emissions between 1750 and 2010 occurred in the last 40 years [3].

According to the Report of the 24th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 24), the transportation sector is the third-largest source of CO2 emissions after the energy sector and other industrial combustions [4]. Among the modes of transportation that contribute the most to carbon dioxide emissions, light vehicles lead with 45% of the emitted volume [5].

Figure 2 — COP 24 Report — Prepared by the author

Another relevant data point is that over 60% of car trips in major urban centers, such as São Paulo, cover a distance ranging from 2.5 to 5 kilometers [6]. This means that the majority of urban journeys made by car could easily be accomplished by bicycles. The benefits of using bicycles as a means of transportation are well-known and include avoiding traffic, reducing stress levels, increasing well-being, meeting daily exercise requirements, and reducing costs associated with driver’s licenses, fuel, licensing, insurance, and vehicle acquisition. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, bicycles also contribute to air pollution reduction as they do not emit particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide, common pollutants from burning fossil fuels. It is estimated that premature deaths due to exposure to particulate matter in Latin America reach 26 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants [7]. In 2019, the World Health Organization estimated 4.2 million deaths worldwide due to air pollution [8].

Nevertheless, the number of bicycle trips is far from ideal, accounting for less than 2% in major urban centers in Brazil. There are several reasons identified for the lower consideration of bicycles as a mode of transport, including a sense of insecurity and lack of dedicated infrastructure for cyclists. However, another frequently mentioned factor is the effort required for commuting on a regular bicycle, especially in cities with more rugged terrain. In this regard, electric bicycles play an important role in popularizing the use of this mode of transport for daily journeys. In addition to sharing all the aforementioned benefits of regular bicycles, electric bicycles also offer the following advantages:

1. They require less effort from its users, allowing adoption for longer distances. The pedal-assist increases the speed of the bicycle, thereby reducing the total travel time [9].
2. By reducing the effort required, electric bicycles become more versatile and can be easily adopted in any type of terrain without leaving users tired and sweaty.
3. This versatility accommodates a wider range of user profiles, including individuals with reduced mobility and beginner cyclists. Electric bikes serve a greater variety of occasions: due to requiring less effort, they are more readily considered for formal commutes, such as traveling to work or attending a meeting [9].
4. Despite the reduced effort, a study conducted by Brigham Young University found that people who use electric bicycles engage in almost as much exercise as those who use regular bicycles [10]. The studies show that both men and women increase their frequency of bicycle use when it is electric, and they more easily achieve the minimum recommended weekly duration of moderate activity of 150 minutes set by the WHO. In addition to being an excellent cardiovascular exercise that can help build endurance and muscles, users can also enjoy improvements in well-being, better sleep, and increased productivity [11] [12].

In this sense, the role of the electric bicycle as the major enabler of this mode of transportation in cities becomes very clear, thus allowing for a transition to a low-carbon transport model.

The potential of the electric bike is already being recognized by the Tembici system, a leading technology company for micromobility in Latin America. They currently have 5,800 electric bicycles, which have covered the equivalent of 48 million kilometers and potentially avoided the emission of 3,500 tons of CO2.

Figure 3 — User using the shared electric bicycle system from Tembici

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of the century. Within the transportation sector, many solutions already exist and are not costly; they simply require a joint effort from public policies for better infrastructure on roads and awareness of the population. If we were to replace car trips in the city of São Paulo with distances of up to 2.5 kilometers, we would potentially save over 936 tons of CO2eq in a single day. This is equivalent to the clean oxygen produced by more than 7,000 trees over 30 years. How about using an electric bike today and being part of the change in the face of the climate emergency?