Before even thinking of a means of transport, it is best to first think in advance whether you have to go somewhere, and can combine it. Because the unused energy is the most sustainable energy.
Sustainable Yacht
Sailing is a fossil-free activity anyway. But if you sail sustainably, so without fossil fuels, including cooking and living on the yacht, then you are by far doing the best.
Bicycle
Did you know that cycling costs even less energy than walking? It is only the product itself. Somewhere in the late eighties of the last century there was a German study that showed that the wear on tires and chains was even less than the wear on shoes. In the meantime, we are all so rich that we buy a new bike every time. So, the most polluting thing is the purchase.
What helps is to prevent yourself being influenced by the ‘silent’ methods of commercial (social?) media. you could also take a Swapfiets.
Walking
Transport by your feet comes in at number 3. The advantage is, just like cycling, that you move more, so you don’t have to go to the gym as much (by car?).
Electric bicycle
This is slightly more polluting than the bicycle because it has more parts that have a shorter lifespan. In terms of time, the lifespan is also shorter – not in terms of kilometers. Just like with the bicycle, the sustainability problem is the rapid replacement. For example, because it is out of fashion. Take the racing bike, which is bought in an enthusiastic mood, but is cycled less and less but is out of fashion because they are now 150 grams lighter.
Train
Dutch trains run on green energy. Because they last for decades and are designed for good maintenance, they last a long time. It looks excellent.
The only disadvantage, which formally falls under ‘green’ is also the wood burning, so there is still pollution from sulphur and nitrogen compounds, among other things. What the train cannot do is get close to home, but here the metro does its job.
Electric bus
The bus does that part that the train can no longer do: the small and remote parts.
The resistance of rolling tires on the road is considerably higher than the resistance of the train wheels on the nice smooth rails, so driving costs a lot more energy. The air resistance is also much higher. No matter how green it is, it costs more wind and solar panels (and wood burning) than the train.
Moped and scooter
The moped often still has a type of combustion engine (two-stroke, on mixed lubrication) that is quite polluting.
However, the emissions from the small engine are much smaller than those of the car.
The scooter of today does better, because it often has a four-stroke engine, just like a car. The electric scooter is ranked by the (electric) bicycle, in terms of sustainability.
Electric car
If you charge the electric car exclusively on green energy, only few fossil emissions are created (only from the wood burning part).
Such a car needs very little maintenance, because unlike fossil cars, there are almost no moving parts. They last a long time. Only the batteries need to be replaced after five or ten years, but these are becoming increasingly durable.
Fossil car
The fossil car converts 30 to 40 percent of fossil energy into power for propulsion. The remaining 60-70% is emitted through heat, carbon dioxide, sulphur compounds and nitrogen compounds.
Airplane
The jet plane is the biggest polluter, even if you calculate per kilometre. An example: flying from Europe to the Marquesas has the same environmental impact as an average yacht in a year.
The propeller plane still has some efficiency in consumption, but it is quite slow. We can expect the first electric planes from this. If you are going to vote in Europe, vote for the party that taxes the emissions of at least flying. Then we will at least reduce the worst polluters.