Climate change and travel

The carbon emissions from tourism are not good news for our planet. Many people are careful to avoid contributing to climate change when they travel.

In the United Nations' list of ten actions that people can take to limit climate change, the fourth action is 'reducing air travel', and the second action is 'using public transport, a bike or walking'. These are actions many travellers could consider when making travel plans.

The third and fifth actions are 'eating more vegetables' and 'throwing away less food'. These actions would make a bigger difference in our daily lives, but why not consider them when travelling too?

We asked people what actions they take to reduce the impact of their travel on climate change. Here's what they said.

We have family in Germany and go to visit them a couple of times a year. We always used to fly, but in recent years we've started taking the train instead. There are lots of advantages to this kind of journey – as well as reducing our carbon footprint, we avoid the stress of airports and discover new places if we stop off somewhere along the way. 
Joanne

Most of my family and oldest friends live across the Atlantic, so visiting them requires a long-distance flight. Travelling by boat isn't practical – combined with ground travel before and after the voyage, it would eat up most of my time off. I usually go to visit them once a year, and have considered going less often, but since it's the only flight I normally take, I think that's pretty good. In my daily life, I use public transport and walk, get my electricity from renewable sources and eat mostly vegetables grown 10km from my house. That's where I focus my efforts.
Kirk

For short trips, if there's a choice between taking a flight or a train, I'd always choose the train. I usually fly when I go to visit my dad or sister who live in the UK, though, but when I get there I take a train rather than hiring a car now. When visiting somewhere new, it's always quite an adventure to use public transport to get around, and that's something most travellers can do. I think we all need to try and reduce our carbon footprint when we travel. It's complicated, though, as sometimes it's cheaper to fly than to take a train or a bus!
Joanna 

What about you?

• Do you think about climate change when travelling?
• How do you think travellers can reduce the impact of their travel?

Replying to other users' comments is a great way to practise interaction and conversation skills. Press 'reply' to write a reply to a comment that you find interesting.