Resource Library/Transport/Air Travel

From Green Needham

This sections corresponds to Action #5 of the 10% Challenge MyPlan.

What's the Problem?

Air travel, whether for business or pleasure, is often a large contributor to our household carbon footprint. The airline industry acknowledges that air travel accounts for about 3% of the man-made contribution to global climate change. This is expected to rise greatly, however. According to the August 17, 2007 Christian Science Monitor, “the statistics look ominous. Aviation currently contributes about 3 percent of global carbon emissions, but air travel is growing at some 5 percent a year, meaning numbers of air passenger kilometers will triple by 2030. Boeing estimates that aircraft numbers will double to more than 30,000 in little more than a decade. Added to this is the complication that aircraft do not just give off carbon dioxide but nitrous oxide, thought to have at least double the impact of CO2, and condensation trails, which also may contribute to global warming.”

What can I do?

Reduce flying:

Tips are from www.davidsuzuki.org and www.greenyour.com

• Consider taking a vacation closer to home
• Use trains and buses when possible.
• “Use video-conferences for meetings. Companies like Swiss Re and IKEA are using video-conferencing to reduce business air travel. Companies benefit from reduced costs, and more efficient decision-making about travel. Employees avoid the stress of travelling and time away from home and family.” See David Suzuki
• Use webcams to keep in touch with family and friends who live far away.

Contact your political representatives, tell them you’re concerned about the contribution of aviation to global climate change, and ask them to take action to regulate and limit greenhouse gas emissions from this sector.

If you do have to fly:

• For business travel, minimize the number of flights you take by combining trips. For example, book more than one meeting in your destination city, so you don't need to fly there several times.
• For pleasure travel, take one longer vacation rather than several small ones.
• Book non-stop flights or at least the most direct route possible. Much of the fuel is used for take-off and landing.
• Fly during the daytime, because studies have shown that flights taken at night have a greater impact on the climate.
• Fly economy, because more people per plane means fewer emissions per person.
• Pack light! Less weight means less fuel needed.
• Purchase carbon offsets to account for the emissions from your flight.