Learn more about the environmental impact of your mobility, and what you can do about it in Luxemburg

Answer: Between 10% and 15% !

More generally, here is a distribution of our CO₂ emissions by sector, in Europe (data 2020):

Source: developpement-durable.gouv.fr

If the whole road transportation is considered (cars, buses and trucks), 17% of global emissions are reached. It is therefore the second source of CO₂ emissions, behind energy production.

These emissions mainly come from the burning of fossil fuels (oil first). But they also include vehicle and batteries production, as well as fuel production, which are included in the 'Industry' and 'Industrial processes' of the diagram.

CO₂ emissions are the main cause for global warming, this is why mobility is one of the major stakes in the ecological transition of the years to come.

Answer: Yes !

In most European countries, and in particular in Luxemburg, electric vehicles have a lower carbon footprint than internal combustion engines cars, over their lifetime.

If their manufacturing has a high carbon footprint (because of their batteries essentially), electric cars emit far less greenhouse gases during their use. Over their lifetime, in the Grand-Duchy, the CO₂ gain is about 45% compared with a traditionnal gasoline car, and 35% compared with a Diesel car (for an equivalent car category). It's even better in France and northern Europe countries, a bit worse in Germany.

Since electric cars also emit no pollutants at their exhaust, there is no reason to hesitate! A hybrid or plug-in hybrid engine can also be an alternative solution, but be careful: it highly depends on how they are used.

Answer: #2 !

In Europe, only Liechtenstein is higher than Luxemburg, which scores an average of 660 cars for 1000 inhabitants... including children! A unconvenient performance, given the impact of cars on global warming, but also on biodiversity and air and water quality... Nothing to be proud of!

However, there are still a few good news for the Grand-Duchy:

• > Luxemburg is one of the countries where cars are the most recent, which means equipped with state-of-the-art depollution technologies. About 25% of the cars licensed in Luxemburg are less than 2 years old!
• > The Grand-Duchy is also one of the countries that's been quickest to start their transition to electric vehicles, both in terms of sales than in terms of charging stations installation.

At the same time, all public transportation is free, and bike lanes are more and more numerous. Let's shift to soft mobility!

Answer: The train !

And by far! The TGV in particular, which is fully propelled with electricity. For a 1000km travel, here is an order of magnitude of the CO₂ emissions:

For information, on this diagram, emissions are represented in kg of CO₂ for 1000km for 1 person, except for the car (in which case the emissions ar for the whole car, no matter how many passengers).

But the train remains by far the most ecological solution of all to travel: very low CO₂, and almost no other pollutant!