What does it take to consider a city cycle-friendly? Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo plans on setting a very high bar.

Each week we highlight news stories that counter the doom and gloom of climate change. This week saw a promise for a bold cycle-friendly future in Paris, an e-pickup manufacture drop its price and a groundbreaking new trial injecting hydrogen into natural gas lines.

Every Street In Paris To Be Cycle-Friendly By 2024, Promises Mayor

By Carlton Reid in Forbes, January 21, 2020

  • Parisian mayor Anne Hidalgo – who’s currently up for re-election – unveiled a plan to transform Paris into a “fifteen minute city” where by prioritizing pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure over space for cars.
  • The idea is based on suggestions from University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne professor Carlos Moreno and relies on the concept of a “segmented city” that features “hyper proximity to essential living needs.”
  • Per the article: “Moreno observes that cities are “still driven by the paradigm of the oil era and its impact on roads and general urban planning” but that the “era of omnipresent cars” is coming to an end.”

Electric vehicle maker Rivian: expect prices lower than previously announced

By Jane Lanhee Lee in Reuters, January 25, 2020

  • Rivian, an up-and-coming electric vehicle company, announced the price of it’s R1T pickup will be lower than the $69,000 it originally estimated.
  • Depending on the battery size, the mid-size pickup will be able to travel 230 to 400 miles on a full charge. The company unveiled its prototype at the 2018 LA Auto Show and has been “excited” by the number of buyers that have placed a $1,000 pre-order deposit.
  • Rivian will begin delivering it’s first R1T trucks by the end of 2020 and is working creating its own network of charging stations.

Zero-carbon hydrogen injected into gas grid for first time in groundbreaking UK trial

By Jessica Murray in The Guardian, January 24, 2020

  • The natural gas network powering 130 buildings at Keele University was injected with hydrogen in a trial to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The byproducts of burning hydrogen is heat and water.
  • Per the article: “Heating homes and businesses accounts for half of the UK’s energy consumption and a third of its carbon dioxide emissions. Rolling the 20% hydrogen blend out across the country could save about 6m tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year, the equivalent of taking 2.5m cars off the road.”
  • The trial aims to “turn the theoretical evidence into something real and tangible,” according to Lorna Millington, future networks manager at Cadent. If the trial is successful, a 10-month pilot is scheduled for 670 properties in Winlaton, Gateshead.

Feature photo by Andrew Gook on Unsplash.