Blog of RENAULT NISSAN Alliance

During the last COP21, which took place in Paris in December 2015, 188 countries committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. This important decision marks a milestone in the global sustainability timeline, showing that there is an increasing concern about the effect of such gases on the environment and on our well-being in general. 

 

The key takeaways from COP21 were, among others, to apply energy-efficient methods to energy intensive sectors such as infrastructure, industry and more particularly transportation. If we look at the figures, transportation accounts for 20% of China’s emissions and 30% of the US’s emissions. In Europe transport is the only sector where emissions have been on the rise during the last quarter of a century, currently representing 28% of the EU’s GHG emissions. 

 

These worrying figures must trigger policies at the international, national and local levels to set in motion concrete actions that combat and limit carbon dioxide emissions. 

 

There has been a surge of Smart City initiatives around the world, mostly focused on reducing dependence on automobiles by encouraging walking and cycling, as well as making public transport more affordable and available. Cities like Buenos Aires, Indore and Lanzhou have effectively ramped up their public transport systems, and some cities like Paris have gone as far as imposing car-free days on highly busy avenues.

 

While encouraging citizens to walk, cycle and use public transportation are necessary steps, we should also think as a society about how to make the switch to greener options when it comes to car choices. 

 

During the Sustainable Transportation Summit organised by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), which took place in July 2016, the electrification of transport was heralded as an important technological development that could help tackle CO2 emissions. With a growing public consciousness on the issue, McKinsey & Company has predicted that “consumers will eventually swap their gas-powered cars and trucks for rechargeable models.” And the figures speak for themselves: China has recorded a 162% increase in electric vehicle sales in 2016, and at least 60 000 Norwegians have made the switch to an electric vehicle. 

 

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is pioneering in the electric vehicle sector, and stands currently as the leader in electric vehicle sales in the world with 349,000 units sold as of June 30th. Its commitment towards producing vehicles that are environmentally friendly is also coupled with a desire to effectively participate in the development of charging networks and the necessary infrastructure that will help encourage the switch to more sustainable forms of personal transport.