In France, you could soon swap your old car for an electric bike

Apr 20, 2021

This article is published in collaboration with Reuters

image of a woman riding an electric bike in Paris

This new plan is designed to reduce the number of cars on the road for a greener future. Image: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

Reuters Staff

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France is offering car owners the chance to scrap their old vehicle for a 2,500 euro electric bicycle grant.
National Assembly lawmakers have approved the measure in a preliminary vote.
If adopted, France will be the first country in the world to offer this initiative.

France is offering the owners of old, exhaust-belching cars the opportunity to hand over their vehicles for scrap in return for a 2,500 euro ($2,975.00) grant to buy an electric bicycle.

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Lawmakers in the National Assembly have approved the measure in a preliminary vote. It was an amendment to a draft climate bill passing through parliament that aims to reduce greenhouse emissions by 40% in 2030 from 1990 levels.

If adopted, France will become the first country in the world to offer people the chance to trade in an ageing vehicle for an electric or folding bicycle, the French Federation of Bicycle Users (FUB) said.

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How is the World Economic Forum helping to scale vehicle electrification?

Emissions from mobility will increase through 2050, jeopardising our chances to combat climate change. By electrifying urban fleets, we can mitigate more than 70% of mobility CO2 urban emissions, remove 50% of city air pollution, and electrify rides to everyone - making the electrification transition more effective and equitable.

Understanding that coordination is needed to create tangible progress, this February the World Economic Forum launched a collaborative umbrella network that will help sync and synergize related global initiatives: the Zero Emissions Urban Fleets (ZEUF) network.

ZEUF is a network of stakeholders for accelerating urban fleets electrification, targeting 100% by 2030. Initiated by the World Economic Forum’s Global New Mobility Coalition in partnership with Uber, T&E, EuroCities, Free Now, LeasePlan, Door2Door, Lime, Blot, Voi, AEDIVE, Polis, The Climate Group, Race to Zero, and others, ZEUF is an open network that convenes periodically to facilitate informal know-how exchange and efforts coordination.

"For the first time it is recognised that the solution is not to make cars greener, but simply to reduce their number," said Olivier Schneider of the FUB.

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