Citizens' Climate Convention: What Are the Goals and Solutions for Mobility?

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By Célia Foulon – Consultant

Since early October, the 150 citizens selected by lottery have been working on proposals to reduce France’s emissions by 40% by 2030, without neglecting social justice ^[1]. Mobility is, of course, one of the key topics of the debate, and the 150 members of the Citizens’ Convention have been briefed on it. This is therefore an opportunity to revisit the issues facing the sector so that, like the 150 citizens selected at random, you’ll have the right figures and orders of magnitude in mind.

1/ Overview of French emissions and a closer look at mobility: By compiling data from CITEPA ^[2], Key Climate Figures from MTES ^[3] and the SOeS Transportation Accounts ^[4], French emissions can be broken down as follows:

Transportation is the leading source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in France (all gases combined), accounting for 30% of the total. It can be seen that Cars alone account for 53% transport-related emissions (Note: Only domestic flights are included in France’s aviation emissions. These emissions would need to be multiplied by 5 to account for international flights departing from France) ^[5]).

2/ Current trends and goals to be achieved: According to the National Low-Carbon Strategy, Greenhouse gas emissions in France declined between 1990 and 2019 (We’ve offshored a significant portion of our industry, so that’s a contributing factor, but we’ve also made some real progress, particularly in the energy sector.) If we focus on transportation—unlike all other sectors—we see a slight increase in emissions since 1990. Why? Because we’re becoming increasingly dependent on cars, and our daily commutes (especially the distance between home and work) are getting longer. But also because cars are getting heavier, which negates the technical advances made in engine technology.

By 2050, if we are to comply with the Paris Agreement and limit global warming to 2°C or less, France (and, by extension, Europe) will have to drastically reduce its emissions. To achieve this, the transportation sector will have to emit virtually no greenhouse gases by 2050! Only domestic air travel may still account for some emissions, as alternatives to petroleum products are the hardest to implement for this mode of transport. And so far, things are off to a bad start. In this regard, the High Council for Climate warns: “The structural changes associated with the scenario outlined in the first National Low-Carbon Strategy are proceeding much more slowly than anticipated. For example, in passenger transport, demand has grown nearly three times faster than expected (1.1% annual growth versus the projected 0.4%), and the electrification of the vehicle fleet is lagging behind (2.1% in 2018 versus the projected 9% or so). The expected shift toward rail, active modes of transportation (cycling, walking, etc.), or public transit has not occurred. As for freight and light commercial vehicle transportation, emissions have remained unchanged.” ^[6]

3/ Decarbonization solutions: But how can we achieve such a reduction when transportation emissions are currently on the rise and we have fallen behind our target trajectories? Transportation emissions result from the interaction of four factors that we can influence:

• Transportation flows: reduce the number of trips, and/or the number of people and goods transported, and/or the distances traveled. For example, the SNBC encourages telework and carpooling to limit the growth in demand.
• Mode of transportation: the shift from carbon-intensive modes of transportation (airplanes, trucks, cars, etc.) to less carbon-intensive modes (boats, trains, bicycles, walking, etc.).
• Intensity effects: improved energy efficiency coupled with higher load factors. The SNBC recommends achieving 4 L/100 km by 2030 under real-world conditions (compared to more than 6 L/100 km in 2018) for gasoline-powered passenger vehicles. ^[7].
• Energy sources: transitioning from fossil fuels to lower-carbon energy sources. The SNBC therefore recommends reaching 35% of electric vehicle sales (battery-powered or hydrogen-powered) by 2030, then 100% by 2040 ^[7].

The 150 citizens participating in the Citizens’ Convention have a clear understanding of these issues and propose to explore four specific types of measures in greater depth ^[8] :

• Change private car usage: promote alternative modes of transportation, ban cars from city centers, reduce speed limits on highways, and regulate automobile advertising.
• Reduce and optimize road freight transport: combined rail-road transport, road tolls for heavy trucks, and the development of short supply chains.
• Influencing regulations: standards for vehicles and maritime transport, supporting the transition of the vehicle fleet over the next ten years…
• Enable French households to get by with fewer cars by providing more services, and ensure citizen representation on mobility planning authorities.

 At this stage, it’s more of a wish list, but we need to give the participants time to continue their work: we’ll have to wait and see which concrete proposals are adopted, how they will be implemented, and how they will be received by the French public.

Article written by Célia Foulon – Consultant

Sources: ^[1]The Citizens' Convention^[2]CITEPA^[3]Key Climate Figures^[4]Transportation Accounts^[5]CCTN^[6]Report by the High Council for Climate Change for the Citizens' Convention^[7]Summary of the SNBC^[8]AEF