The path to carbon neutrality, this major objective that the European Union has committed to achieve by 2050, inevitably passes through cities. This is where three out of four Europeans live today, and where nearly a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector are generated… The only sector whose emissions have increased since 1990.
Enough to make the advent of zero-carbon mobility in the city – understanding without a heat engine – “one of the most pressing challenges of our time”, slips Barbara Stoll, director of “Clean Cities”a campaign launched by the NGO Transport & Environment and to which 60 other European environmental associations have been added. The issue is not only climatic. It is also to reduce air pollution “while the thresholds in this area set by the EU are still regularly exceeded in more than a hundred cities on this continent. »
No city deserves an “A”
In view of these issues, Clean Cities Campaign sought to find out which European cities were struggling the most to create the conditions conducive to the advent of zero-carbon mobility in their territories. The winners, published this Thursday and which 20 minutes unveils exclusively for France, screened 36 cities among the 440 with more than 100,000 inhabitants in Europe. “We chose those which seemed to us the most relevant to study, with regard to their size and/or the measures they put in place in this area of urban mobility”, explains Pierre Dornier, who coordinated the study for France where four cities -Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Strasbourg have been classified.
The quality of the air, the levels of ease and safety with which one can move around on foot or by bike, car congestion, the public transport offer, the policies put in place to promote soft mobility, etc. In total, eleven criteria classified into five main categories were taken into account to classify these 36 cities. All reduced to an overall score out of 100 associated with a letter. You had to have between 80 and 100% to get an A. “This is the first lesson of this barometer, none of the 36 cities obtains it, quite simply because they are all still quite far from reaching this zero mobility carbon”, emphasizes Pierre Dornier.
Oslo, first without surprise
Even Oslo, which climbs on the first step of the podium with a score of 71.50%. Low Emission Zone (ZFE)urban tolls, removal of parking spaces, conversion of streets into pedestrian zones, diesel ban already in effect… The Norwegian capital is often cited as an example for its efforts to get out of thermal vehicles as quickly as possible. “Clean Cities” gives it an 18.5/20 on this criterion, the most important among the eleven taken into account. On the other hand, Oslo sees its average rating weighed down by the lack of infrastructure it offers to cyclists. It drops to 1.2 out of 10 on this indicator. The scenario is almost identical for Amsterdam, second in this list. It shows goodwill, but still lends itself relatively little to walking and does not always offer a very secure environment for its cyclists, believe the authors of the report. Finally Helsinki finished third and had everything to do better, except for a lack of political will to plan the exit of thermal vehicles, judge Clean Cities. Quite the opposite of Oslo and Amsterdam in other words.
Paris is doing the best… on the French side
So much for the podium. Very quickly, then, we come across Paris, fifth in the rankings with an overall score of 61.90% which just allows it to remain in category B. “This place in the upper part of the ranking is explained among other things by a by cheap and accessible public transport, but also because the city is one of the few to have enacted the ban on diesel engines planned for 2024 and thermal engines in 2030 (one of the rare cities to have been so far)”, deciphers Pierre Dornier. On the other hand, Paris still suffers from its high traffic congestion and the resulting poor air quality. “It’s the fourth most polluted city in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) – an indicator of automobile pollution – of our ranking”, specifies “Clean Cities”. Admittedly, Paris is in a much more populated urban area than the majority of the 36 cities in this ranking, in particular the five that are ahead of it in the ranking. “But progress is possible, in particular by giving even more space to cyclists and pedestrians, assures Pierre Dornier, Only 11.5% of Parisian streets have a cycle path and the separate infrastructure for pedestrians represents the equivalent of 36% of roads only on average, points out the study in particular.
Lyon, for its part, comes eleventh in this ranking. As for Paris, “Clean Cities” takes note of the measures recently taken by the metropolis to make its mobility cleaner. In particular the establishment of a ZFE on part of its territory and from which all diesels will be excluded from 2026. study which also points, as levers for improvement, to giving more space to cyclists and walkers.
Marseille, once again among the bad students
Strasbourg, for its part, comes 20th in this list. The Alsatian capital is however in the lead pack on the criterion of the security framework offered to pedestrians and cyclists. “It is also one of those rare cities, like Lyon and Marseille, to have set a diesel release date,” adds Pierre Dornier. It’s planned for 2028, a little late for our taste, but it’s still ambitious compared to those that still haven’t acted. » But on the other criteria, Strasbourg obtains average or even low scores with regard to access to public transport (number of stops per km²) with a 2.8/10 and access to charging stations. electric charging (1.4/10).
It remains to talk about Marseille, usually poorly ranked in this kind of awards. That “Clean Cities” is no exception, the Marseille city falling in 26th place with a score of 46.60% which earns it a D. Admittedly, it is ahead of Prague, Manchester, Granada, Rome… as well as the three cities Polish integrated in this classification or Naples good behind. But this is not glorious for all that, for Pierre Dornier, who ranks Marseille in the group of cities exposed to concentrations of NO2 dangerous for its inhabitants and which, however, do not act accordingly. “We are in the policy of small steps, he criticizes. The metropolis has, for example, just presented a ZFE plan that is modest to say the least. The proposed area concerns only 19.5 of the 240 km² of the territory of the city of Marseille. And to date, no complete ban on diesels is planned. »