Travel sustainably
According to a study by the University of Sydney, tourism is responsible for around eight percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. And according to calculations by the KlimaLink eV association, a whopping 75 percent of these emissions are generated during arrival and departureSo when planning a sustainable trip, it is definitely worth considering not only the choice of accommodation and holiday activities, but also the way we get there and back home.
Calculate the climate impact of arrival and departure online
There are now numerous ways to reduce CO₂ emissions on the Internet.emissions per mode of transport. My personal favorite: the CO2-Calculator from “Quarks”. Using comprehensive data from the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (ifeu), it calculates not only the CO2-Emissions for a planned route by car. But also compare these directly with the emissions of other means of transport: electric car, e-bike, public transport, long-distance train, long-distance bus and airplane. To do this, you first have to find out how many kilometers your holiday destination is from your home, for example using Google Maps. You multiply this number of kilometers by two (because you want to calculate the outward and return journey) and enter it together with a few details about your car. If you don't have a car yourself, you can simply enter average values here. And you'll see very clearly what emissions you can expect for your trip depending on the means of transport.
How climate-friendly is traveling by car?
When driving a car, there are three main factors that determine how high your CO₂-Emissions for arrival and departure on holiday are:
- Does your vehicle run on diesel, petrol or completely electric?
- What is the average fuel consumption per 100 kilometers?
- How many people are traveling?
An example shows how strongly these factors affect emissions. Let's say you want to go on holiday from Frankfurt to Madrid. The round trip by car is about 3.800 kilometres. An old diesel car from the 90s consumes an average of 8 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres.. Consequently, you will need about 300 liters of fuel for this trip. If you are sitting alone in the car, this trip will cause around one ton of CO₂-Emissions. Remember: the average carbon footprint in Germany is 10,8 tons – per person and per year! By travelling to and from the airport in an old diesel car, you would have already saved almost a tenth of the annual CO₂budgets. The usual 10,8 tonnes of CO₂ in Germany per year are already ten times higher than what researchers describe as “climate-friendly”. However, with every additional person who travels, the carbon footprint per person gets a little better - or less bad. If you are travelling with a family of four, for example, the emissions per person in an old diesel car are 250 kg. On the other hand, if you are driving an economical petrol car that consumes around 5 litres per 100 kilometres, you can reduce CO₂ emissions by around 50 percent compared to the old diesel car.-Save emissions. And with an electric car, you only need 344 kg per vehicle for this journey.
Arriving and departing by plane: is that something you can take responsibility for?
The term flight shame is no longer a new word and most of us know that we should fly as little as possible for the sake of the climate. However, there are actually cases in which the airplane does not take first place among the travel climate offenders. Let's take the example of Frankfurt - Madrid - Frankfurt again. The per capita CO₂-Emissions by plane are just under 900 kg. That's right - flying is actually less harmful to the climate than driving an old diesel car alone. Nevertheless, 900 kg of CO₂ for the journey to and from your holiday is still quite a lot. If you cannot avoid flying, you can use providers such as Atmosfair at least offset your emissions. You can read how exactly this works in this post auf unserem Blog.
Travelling by bus and train: here you can save CO₂ save up
You can also reach many travel destinations in Europe in a climate-friendly way by long-distance train or bus. We have already come up with some travel plans on our blog - let yourself be inspired:
- Five places you can travel by night train
- Beyond the borders: travel abroad with the Deutschlandticket
- Recommended reading: Traveling without a flight
For our route Frankfurt – Madrid – Frankfurt, emissions from long-distance trains and buses are on average 117 kg per person. The only way to arrive and depart in a more climate-friendly way is by bike or on foot. Overall, long-distance buses perform slightly better than trains because they are better utilized on average (60 percent) than long-distance rail (44 percent).
Conclusion
One thing is certain: going on holiday without emissions is difficult. But we can make a real difference by choosing the means of transport. Ideally, you should travel to and from the airport by long-distance train or bus. This can also be less stressful and faster than driving your own car. Instead, you can use the travel time to prepare for your holiday or to let the holiday feeling linger in peace. If, on the other hand, you decide to travel by car, make sure you choose a model that is as economical as possible and do not drive alone. Because the more people you travel with, the lower the CO₂-Emissions per capita. But remember: the carbon footprint of a trip doesn't end with the arrival and departure. It's also important how you get around at your holiday destination, how energy-efficient and environmentally friendly your accommodation is, what you eat and how much waste you produce. Sounds overwhelming? Take a deep breath. Realize: the mere fact that you've read this article to the end shows that you're on the right track. And now: have fun calculating and planning!
1 https://klimalink.org/klimafreund-reisen/
2 https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/bild/average-fuel consumption-of-pkw
4 https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/service/uba-fragen/wie-hoch-sind-die-treibhausgasmissions-pro-person
5 GEO
Photos: unsplash / Elizabeth Lies, Daniel, Pexels / Oandremoura
Ina Hiester
Ina is a digital nomad and travels through Europe by land and sea. The journalist is always on the lookout for special places for Good Travel, philosophizes about travel in her column, takes photographs, makes music and writes articles on all kinds of environmental and sustainability topics.
4 Comments
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Johanna
Another great and interesting report and also interesting how you do the calculation to calculate your own so-called consumption, the so-called CO₂ emissions per capita that you leave behind when you drive alone or with a full car or with other vehicles. Well, I would always prefer to travel by bike and on foot and go on an excursion, but with family and children and dog and cat, that is not always possible...but good things take time.
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Mike
A beautiful and thought-provoking report…
In my opinion, the topic of cars needs to be examined more closely: is it more harmful to the climate to go on holiday with an old car or to have a new, more environmentally friendly car produced?
If it were reliably possible to travel south by night train (I live in northern Germany), I would like to try it out... but unfortunately I am triggered by the unpunctuality of Deutsche Bahn...-
Ina
Thanks for your feedback, Mike! You're right, the topic of old vs. new is much more complex (not just for cars). It's not just the CO2 emissions during use that are important, but also the total energy and resource consumption for production. Since we're not assuming that anyone is buying a new car just for a trip on vacation, I've left that out here. In my opinion, the following article sums up the topic of old vs. new for cars quite well: https://eco-auto.info/article/altes-oder-neues-auto. As for the alternatives: have you ever tried the long-distance bus option? Regards, Ina
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Johanna
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