Green Tourism

Specialist Reports Special Interest Holidays Green Tourism Transport Issues 

Transport is the most polluting element of most holidays. Naturally walking and cycling score highly as green options. Next generally comes rail and then coach. Surprisingly if a car has four passengers it scores more highly than flying which is particularly destructive, largely because of the amount of emissions which are produced by aircraft and their fuel but also because emissions are at the higher levels of the atmosphere where they do more damage.

Aircraft pollution, encouraged by the lack of an tax on aircraft fuel (airlines would always buy fuel at their cheapest destination), is becoming an increasing problem. In 2001 The Economist reported that at any minute of the day or night a quarter of a million people were in the air and the numbers are increasing.

Although Boeing has flagged a planned ‘sonic cruiser' as environmentally friendly, environmentalists such as those at Friends of the Earth point out that in fact these may actually cause even more damage.

The reason is that they are designed to fly at a higher altitude than conventional jets - about 45,000 feet. This is the height of the stratosphere, where the ozone layer lies - that famous layer which shields the earth and which would be affected by the planes' emissions. (Concorde similarly because it flies higher than standard planes causes damage to the ozone layer.)

Relevant Organisations

Choose Climate
chooseclimate
A fun web site which among other things allows visitors to calculate the environmental impact of trips. Written by Dr Ben Matthews who among other things has a PhD thesis in the rate of air-sea CO2 exchange. Apparently a return flight from London to New York produces more carbon dioxide per passenger than the average British motorist does in a full year. Furthermore this kind of emission in the upper layers of the atmosphere are more damaging than those at sea level. There is also so discussion over whether investing in trees does genuine reduce the harmful effects of transport emissions.

Carbon Neutral Flights
gocarbonneutral
A system run by Future Forests (futureforests (0870) 241 1932), whereby you can pay for trees to be planted to reabsorb CO2 equivalent to that produced by your journey, or contribute to a carbon reduction project in a developing country. These moves are considered the ‘neutralise' your emissions. So for example a shorthaul flight (London to Portugal) which produces 0.6 tonnes of CO2 per person would be charged at one tree costing £7/€10.56 with a choice of forests in which it could be planted, and a map of the forest location and baggage tag (presumably so your fellow passengers can be alerted to the service).

Climate Care
58 Church Way, Oxford OX4 4EF
(0)1865 777 770
co2
Charges a small fee on activities which cause global warming and uses this to fund projects that reduce global warming, such as renewable energy, energy efficiency or forest restoration. The reductions are designed to equal the emissions, making clients ‘climate neutral'. Charge on a return flight to Rome for example is £2. Climate Care states that ‘Climate Care's activities are overseen by an Environmental Steering Committee which includes key environmental figures and organisations like WWF, with the power to ensure that we deliver genuine environmental benefits.'

Environmental Transport Association
10 Church Street, Weybridge KT13 8RS
(01932) 828 882
eta
Established in 1990 as an ethical alternative to the AA and RAC, the ETA offers a range of insurance services to members. The ETA also actively campaigns for a sustainable transport system for Britain and also co-ordinates ETA Green Transport Week and National Car Free Day.With “carbon-neutral cover”, the idea is to neutralise or offset the carbon dioxide emissions of members' cars by funding projects, such as planting rainforests or providing energy saving light bulbs to small communities in the developing world. As driving an ordinary saloon car for 8,000 miles over a year produces an average of 2.3 tonnes of CO2 - equivalent to cutting down 12 mature trees, the ETA will fund the planting of new trees or other similar environment-saving projects for each breakdown cover purchased.

Green Skies Network
greenskies
GreenSkies is a worldwide information network of environmental organisations concerned with aviation's environmental effects. The network started as a European initiative, and its members are predominantly based in Europe. However, organisations from all over the world are increasingly joining.

International Bicycle Fund
ibike
As US non-governmental, nonprofit, advocacy organization, promoting sustainable transport and international understanding. ‘Major areas of activity are non-motorized urban planning, economic development, bike safety education, responsible travel and cycle tourism, and cross-cultural, educational programs.' Includes a section on responsible travel and some practical sections like taking bikes by plane. However, the specific tours covered tend to be in more demanding parts of the world such as Africa.

North South Travel
Moulsham Mill Centre, Parkway, Chelmsford CM2 7PX
(01245) 608 291
northsouthtravel
An ATOL protected discount travel agency which puts all its profits into grassroots development projects in the poorer countries of the world. Profits go to the NST Development Trust are directed to disadvantaged sectors of the community and aim to contribute to the promotion of sustainable tourism.

Sustrans
35 King Street, Bristol BS1 4DZ
(0117) 929 0888
sustrans
'Sustrans works on practical projects to encourage people to cycle and walk more, as one starting point for reducing motor traffic and tackling its adverse effects.' Flagship project, the National Cycle Network, opened 5,000 miles routes in June 2000, with a further 5,000 targeted for 2005. More than a third of the route is traffic free so ideal for family cycling and there is a section on this on the web site.

Tips

• Don't fly but use an alternative form of transport.



• At your destination, as far as possible use human powered transport (walking, cycling, canoeing - the second two potentially available for hire) or use high occupancy vehicles (bus, trains, collective taxis, etc.). In the least developed areas spending on motorised transport is of little benefit to the local economy because equipment and energy is imported.