Climate Change & Travel
What's the problem?
Climate change is a serious environmental threat, and air travel is the fastest-growing contributor to the problem. Lonely Planet regards travel, overall, as a global benefit, but believes we all have a responsibility to limit our personal impact on global warming.
How to calculate your emissions:It's really easy (and secretly, it's pretty interesting too). Select your points of departure and arrival. The calculator will display your emissions from this flight and the amount of money you should contribute. Amazing.
How does it happen?
Pretty much every form of motorised travel generates CO2 (the main cause of human-induced climate change) but planes are the worst offenders. This is not just because of the sheer distances they travel, but because they release greenhouse gases high into the atmosphere. The statistics are frightening: two people taking a return flight between Europe and the US will contribute as much to climate change as an average household's gas and electricity consumption over a whole year.
How can we help?
Climatecare.org and other websites use 'carbon calculators' that allow travellers to offset greenhouse gases they are responsible for with a payment to schemes that reduce greenhouse gases by the same amount. These schemes include renewable energy, energy efficiency and forest restoration projects across the world, including India, Honduras, Kazakhstan and Uganda. Lonely Planet offsets all of its staff and author travel and, together with Rough Guides and other concerned partners in the travel industry, is proud to support the carbon offset scheme run by climatecare.org.
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