France to Offer E-Bikes for Clunkers – treehugger.com
Lloyd Alter – April 14, 2021
France is on a serious roll with its new climate bill. We noted previously how it is banning short local flights; there is also an amendment to the bill that offers owners of old cars a grant of 2,500 euros (about $3,000) towards the purchase of an e-bike. Olivier Schneider of the French Federation of Bicycle Users tells Reuters that “For the first time it is recognized that the solution is not to make cars greener, but simply to reduce their number.”
This is not quite true, Finland has been doing this for a while, having funded over 2,000 e-bikes. But the French scheme and Schneider’s comment are still very significant. We have noted before that electric cars are not a silver bullet because of the upfront carbon emissions, or embodied carbon, released during their manufacture, and we have also asked if governments are going to subsidize electric vehicles, why not e-bikes?
This is not quite true, Finland has been doing this for a while, having funded over 2,000 e-bikes. But the French scheme and Schneider’s comment are still very significant. We have noted before that electric cars are not a silver bullet because of the upfront carbon emissions, or embodied carbon, released during their manufacture, and we have also asked if governments are going to subsidize electric vehicles, why not e-bikes?
