Reducing CO2 emissions
You’ve come to Responsible Travel looking for a great trip. Like us you want your vacation to benefit local people and places too.
We’ve been working on this since 2001, when we became the first business 100% dedicated to responsible travel.
The 1-2-3 of reducing CO2 emissions
Responsible tourism creates many benefits locally, but we must reduce the CO2 emissions from our vacations. It would be easy to tell
you to carry on as normal and that carbon offsets (paying for a project to reduce your emissions) are the answer. But EU research shows 85% of them
don’t work; and shifting responsibility elsewhere is not good behaviour. We dropped offsets in 2009 calling them a ‘distraction’.
YOUR HOLIDAY’S CO2 RESULTS FROM 1) EMISSIONS IN THE DESTINATION 2) HOW YOU GET THERE AND 3) HOW OFTEN AND FAR YOU TRAVEL. WE MUST FOCUS ON REDUCTION, NOT OFFSETS.
YOUR HOLIDAY’S CO2 RESULTS FROM 1) EMISSIONS IN THE DESTINATION 2) HOW YOU GET THERE AND 3) HOW OFTEN AND FAR YOU TRAVEL. WE MUST FOCUS ON REDUCTION, NOT OFFSETS.1. CO2 emissions in the destination
What you eat and buy, where you stay, and how you travel around matters. We are working with our destination partners to reduce CO2, here is what you can do.
of a flight.
Compare the emissions of flying with
other things in your life.
other things in your life.
3. How often you travel
Fly lessWe must fly less (business and pleasure) until zero carbon planes are a reality. Taking fewer vacations with flights, but staying longer, is one way to do this (and more relaxing too!). Taking some vacations closer to home or by rail is another.
Make it count
When you fly, make it count – our vacations have been screened to support local communities and conservation of natural and cultural heritage.
Campaign
As travelers we can’t solve tourism’s role in the climate crisis on our own, and so we have published a Manifesto for Aviation and CO2 reduction and are lobbying hard for change.
Sources:
1 Return flight to Croatia (Split) - www.flightemissionmap.org
2 Average annual emissions from clothing - WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme)
3 Average annual emissions from gas heating - Committee on climate change
4 Average annual emissions from driving - Committee on climate change
5 Average annual emissions from food - carbonindependent.org
1 Return flight to Croatia (Split) - www.flightemissionmap.org
2 Average annual emissions from clothing - WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme)
3 Average annual emissions from gas heating - Committee on climate change
4 Average annual emissions from driving - Committee on climate change
5 Average annual emissions from food - carbonindependent.org
