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Electric Bikes

Transport

Electric bikes get a boost from a small battery-powered motor. They are the most environmentally sound means of motorized transport in the world today.

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Rank and results by 2050 #69

Electric Bikes

Reduced CO2: 1 gigatons
Net cost (Billions US$): $106.75
Net operational savings: $226.07 billion
What do these numbers mean?

TOTAL CO2-EQ REDUCTION (GT)

Total CO2-equivalent reduction in atmospheric greenhouse gases by 2050 (gigatons)

NET COST (billions US $)

Net cost to implement

SAVINGS (billions US $)

Net savings by 2050

Impact:

In 2014, e-bike riders traveled around 249 billion miles, largely in China. Based on market research, we project travel can increase to 1.2 trillion miles per year by 2050. Shifting from cars will drive that growth, which promises to be greatest across Asia and in higher-income countries. This solution could reduce 1 gigaton of carbon dioxide emissions and save e-bike owners $226 billion by 2050.

Electric Bikes

Transport

Electric bikes get a boost from a small battery-powered motor. They are the most environmentally sound means of motorized transport in the world today.

Electric bikes are the most environmentally sound means of motorized transport in the world today. They come in many shapes and forms and are accompanied by a small battery-powered motor that can make hills manageable, journeys swifter, and longer trips more viable. As they grow more effective and affordable, e-bikes are increasingly drawing people out of more polluting modes of transportation, such as driving solo.

E-bikes are all the rage in China, where millions of people use them to commute and e-bike owners outnumber car owners by a factor of two. The trend dates to the mid-1990s, when China’s booming cities put strict antipollution rules in place. These pedal-motor hybrids are on the rise in many parts of the world, as urban dwellers seek convenient, healthy, and affordable ways to move around congested cities.

An e-bike’s battery gets its charge from the nearest outlet, tapping into whatever electricity is on hand—from coal-based to solar-powered. E-bikes have higher emissions than a regular bicycle or simply walking, but they still outperform cars, including electric ones.

Vs

Family Planning

Women and Girls

Securing women's right to voluntary, high-quality family planning dramatically improves the health and well-being of women and their children. It also avoids emissions.

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Rank and results by 2050 #7

Family Planning

Reduced CO2: 60 gigatons
What do these numbers mean?

TOTAL CO2-EQ REDUCTION (GT)

Total CO2-equivalent reduction in atmospheric greenhouse gases by 2050 (gigatons)

NET COST (billions US $)

Net cost to implement

SAVINGS (billions US $)

Net savings by 2050

Impact:

Increased adoption of reproductive healthcare and family planning is an essential component to achieve the United Nations’ 2015 medium global population projection of 9.7 billion people by 2050. If investment in family planning, particularly in low-income countries, does not materialize, the world’s population could come closer to the high projection, adding another 1 billion people to the planet. We model the impact of this solution based on the difference in how much energy, building space, food, waste, and transportation would be used in a world with little to no investment in family planning, compared to one in which the projection of 9.7 billion is realized. The resulting emissions reductions could be 119.2 gigatons of carbon dioxide, at an average annual cost of $10.77 per user in low-income countries. Because educating girls has an important impact on the use of family planning, we allocate 50 percent of the total potential emissions reductions to each solution—59.6 gigatons a piece.

Family Planning

Women and Girls

Securing women's right to voluntary, high-quality family planning dramatically improves the health and well-being of women and their children. It also avoids emissions.

Securing women’s right to voluntary, high-quality family planning around the world would have powerful positive impacts on the health, welfare, and life expectancy of both women and their children. It also can affect greenhouse gas emissions.

225 million women in lower-income countries say they want the ability to choose whether and when to become pregnant but lack the necessary access to contraception. The need persists in some high-income countries as well, including the United States where 45 percent of pregnancies are unintended. Currently, the world faces a $5.3 billion funding shortfall for providing the access to reproductive healthcare that women say they want to have.

Carbon footprints are a common topic. Addressing population—how many feet are leaving their tracks—remains controversial despite widespread agreement that greater numbers place more strain on the planet.

Honoring the dignity of women and children through family planning is not about governments forcing the birth rate down (or up, through natalist policies). Nor is it about those in rich countries, where emissions are highest, telling people elsewhere to stop having children. When family planning focuses on healthcare provision and meeting women’s expressed needs, empowerment, equality, and well-being are the result; the benefits to the planet are side effects.

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