One-sixth of Japan’s CO2 emissions come from vehicles such as cars and trains. About half of these vehicles are household cars running on gasoline and emit a lot of CO2, even though there are only one or two people in the car. If we replace these vehicles with public transportation such as trains and buses, we can avoid increasing carbon dioxide emissions.

We can further reduce personal carbon dioxide emissions, or even eliminate them altogether, if we use a bicycle. Especially if you are only going a short distance. Moreover, riding a bicycle is a good way to get a moderate amount of exercise. Recently, we have seen an increasing number of “share bicycles” that are available for anyone to use as a short-term rental.

If you must travel by car, drive in a way that produces less carbon dioxide. The secret is to avoid making sudden movements such as fast acceleration, sudden braking, and erratic steering, as these actions all increase gasoline consumption. Drive gently. Another way to increase efficiency is to reduce weight by removing unnecessary cargo in the vehicle.

Not only the movement of people, but also the movement of goods emit carbon dioxide. Trucking vegetables from distant fields uses fuel and emits carbon dioxide. A term "food mileage” has emerged as a way of thinking about how much carbon dioxide is emitted by the time the food is transported to market, based on the amount of food and the distance it is transported. For food mileage, the lower the value the better it is for the environment, and if you eat vegetables from a nearby farm or local producer, you will definitely pass the food mileage test.

episode 1
Reduce CO2 Emissions from Transportation

Detailed Data and Explanation 1:
Carbon dioxide emissions by vehicle.

Source: “Carbon Dioxide Emissions in the Transportation Sector” 2019, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

The graph above represents carbon dioxide emissions by vehicle type in Japan. The percentage of total vehicles, including motorcycles, is about 85% of all transport emissions. Furthermore, private vehicles account for more than half of that total. On the other hand, the percentage of buses is low. Railroads, which carry many people, account for only 4% of total emissions.

The graph below compares the carbon dioxide emissions of each type of vehicle when one passenger travels a certain distance. Compared to trains, private passenger cars emit 7.6 times as much carbon dioxide. This is more than twice as much as buses. This should make us reflect upon just how inefficient vehicles are.

Source: "Carbon Dioxide Emissions by Transportation Volume (passengers)" 2019, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

Detailed Data and Explanation 2:
You can ride a shared cycle in 225 cities in Japan.

Shared bicycles, which make bicycles available to everyone, began more than 60 years ago, although, they were not very popular. The most recent spark for shared bicycles came in France in 2005, when a system that allows users to rent bicycles with a membership card became popular. Since then, more than 2,300 cities around the world have adopted similar systems, including 225 cities in Japan.

Source: "Current Status and Issues Concerning Shared Cycle Systems" Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism