{"alias":"newsItem","byline":"Words: Jacqueline Landey | Illustration: Cristian Malag\u00F3n Garcia","standfirst":"One transatlantic flight emits more carbon dioxide than a year\u2019s worth of driving or eating meat. So, if you love to travel, is it possible to both explore the planet and protect it?","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/6736/plane.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EYou step onto a plane \u2013 flick through the channels, eat your pre-prepared meal, nod to the stranger beside you \u2013 and a few hours later, you\u2019re riding curls of blue waves on the other side of the world. Camping in a red desert under moonlight. Entering a pine forest thick with mist. Edging up onto the precipice of a mountain, and there, peering out at the birds and streams and valleys below, you find yourself panting: \u2018Wow.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETravel can illuminate nature\u2019s diversity, enriching our lives with opportunities to appreciate the world in all its glory.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd so, coming to terms with the fact that the way we jet to all those majestic, far-flung destinations is a key culprit in the fight against global warming can feel like a hard loss.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPlane shame\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBy burning fuel, airplanes emit CO2 and other harmful greenhouse gases high up in the atmosphere. The aviation industry produces around 2% of global CO2 emissions, which may not seem that shocking until learning that less than 10% of the world\u2019s population has been on a plane.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition, low or non-existent taxes on aviation fuel means low fares and even more flights. Despite advancing technology and more fuel-efficient engines, the rapid and increasing growth of the air travel industry suggests that when it comes to the damaging environmental impact of flying, there\u2019s no end in sight.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EToday, we know more than ever before about the terrifying effects of carbon emissions and global warming, and so you may feel a pang of guilt when eyeing a flight to your next destination, before remembering that YouTube clip of a polar bear scrambling from one melting iceberg to the next.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Sweden, they\u2019ve come up with a term for the feeling: \u2018flygskam\u2019, meaning flight shame. The anti-flying movement encourages people to stop flying in order to lower carbon emissions. It\u2019s kicked off a worldwide movement of people who\u2019ve vowed to go flight-free.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIs there hope for clean fuel alternatives?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBecause the process of generating biofuels is a driver of deforestation, green fuel alternatives are destructive in other ways. And while electric flights may sound like a hopeful alternative, producing electricity and batteries has an environmental impact, too, and the battery-operated technology needed to fly large aircraft simply doesn\u2019t exist yet, so this is unlikely to happen anytime soon.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESo, what can we do?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGo flight-free. Make your pledge at \u003Ca href=\u0022http://www.flightfree.co.uk\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Eflightfree.co.uk\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/a\u003E. Commit to fewer flights, fly direct (because taking off uses more fuel than cruising, fewer take-offs mean less carbon), and never choose business or first class, where carbon emissions are 3\u20134 times higher per passenger.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome call it an excuse to continue polluting, but carbon offsetting allows you to offset the emissions from your flight by paying extra to invest in environmental projects (like planting trees, installing solar panels or funding renewable energy), which reduce carbon dioxide by the same amount.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou can do this by paying an additional charge when booking a flight or through a non-profit such as \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.atmosfair.de/en/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022Atmosfair.de homepage\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Eatmosfair.de\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/a\u003E. Some airlines and travel companies promise carbon offsetting on all their trips, so do your research to find the ones that do.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECruises are carbon culprits too, but there are more environmentally friendly seafaring alternatives. To deliver her speech at the UN climate conference, climate activist Greta Thunberg sailed across the Atlantic in a yacht. There\u2019s also a growing number of people who book places on cargo ships. There are websites that can help you do this.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETravel by train. Aside from biking or walking, it\u2019s arguably the most environmentally friendly way to travel, with the added perk of enabling you to admire the scenery. In Sweden, it\u2019s led to a hashtag, #t\u00E5gskyrt: \u2018train brag\u2019. For train travel tips, visit \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.seat61.com/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022The Man in Seat 61 homepage\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Eseat61.com\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you can\u2019t take the train, go by car; especially if it\u2019s electric, carrying more than one person and when exploring nearer to home.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"22 May 2020","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[],"relatedLinks":[],"id":48510,"nodeName":"Travel vs planet","title":"Travel vs planet","type":"newsItem","image":{"url":"/media/6736/plane.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd0d6d2490","caption":"Plane (1)","type":"jpg","size":280564,"width":1920,"height":1080,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Travel vs planet","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC80ODUxMCJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2020/may/travel-vs-planet/"}