Bicycle beats evolution to make faster, C02-benign humans

An alliance for walking, cycling, ‘wheeling’ and ‘passenging’ has been launched at the Bali UN Climate Conference. (Nice but is ‘passenging’ a real word?)

walking-cycling-wheeling:non-motorized means of transport such as feet, walking aids, bicycle, tricycle, velomobile, wheelchair, scooter, skates, skateboard, push scooter, trailer, hand cart, shopping cart, carrying aids; and above vehicles with supporting electrical drive (preferably powered by renewable energy)

‘passenging’:using means of public transport such as escalator, elevator, bus, tram, monorail, subway, lightrail, train, cableway, ferry, collective taxi, taxi (preferably with low-emission drives)

More than 30 global companies, business and user associations, expert organizations, local governments and United Nations agencies have joined together in a partnership for the integrated promotion of walking, cycling, wheeling and ‘passenging’ (the use of public transport) in cities.

“Climate change must be addressed in every community worldwide. We cannot just wait for governments to come to an agreement. As far as urban transport is concerned, we have got a solution to offer: EcoMobility,” said Konrad Otto-Zimmermann who heads ICLEI, an association of over 700 cities in 67 countries that are dedicated to sustainable development.

The ultimate goal of the Alliance is a zero-carbon mobility system for cities:

“Whilst billions are being spent on having engineers make the car less environmentally harmful, let’s be aware: the ‘zero carbon vehicle’ was invented more than 200 years ago and is called the bicycle,” said Otto-Zimmermann.

“With the bicycle, humans even surpassed evolution – moving by bicycle requires less energy input per kilometre than walking.”

Brian Williams, Chief of the Energy and Transport Section of United Nations Habitat said:

“Urban transport is the world’s fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions by a factor of two. Given that there remains a 20 to 25 year-long window of opportunity to slow the trajectory of emissions growth, a dollar spent on mitigation in urban transport immediately is worth two dollars spent elsewhere.”

“As a corporate enterprise, we believe that industry has a fundamental responsibility to reassess its role in regard to protecting our natural environment.”
Yoshi Shimano, Chairman, Shimano

“As a father of four children and an avid bike commuter, I fully support EcoMobility in promoting alternative, earth-friendly forms of transportation.”
Dan Britton, President & CEO, Chariot Carriers

Bike companies Shimano, Giant, Trek and the Accell Group are part of the Ecomobility Alliance. Chariot Carriers of Canada is another, and so is Denk Engineering of Germany (soon to be former design consultants to Scott USA), showing that the Alliance it’s not just open to the big boys.

Ecomobility is all about:

Advocacy: Positioning ecomobility as a solution in the climate change debate, by advocating ecomobility at international policy fora and negotiations.

Promotion: Raising awareness of the benefits of ecomobility through an ecomobility label as a distinction for city districts, public and private facilities, and the Cities Enjoy Bicycles Awards.

Investment: Encouraging investment in ecomobility infrastructure, vehicles and mobility aids.

Innovation: Building ecomobility systems in cities through product innovation and creative cooperation in cross-sector partnerships.