Unpacked: Decarbonising travel

There’s nothing like travel and holidays to reset, recharge and understand the world and other cultures a little better. It’s a great, big, wonderful adventure, and you’ll come home with memories to cherish.

But, as the impacts of climate change become increasingly visible, from unpredictable weather patterns to rising sea levels, expanding deserts and devastating natural disasters, the travel industry needs to wake up to the fact that it is a major contributor to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that heat up the planet.

Around 8% of all the world’s greenhouse gas emissions come from tourism and at least 2.5% of global carbon emissions can be attributed directly to flying. Taking a flight is the single worst thing you can do for the environment as an individual (according to analysis by the Guardian, taking a flight emits as much carbon dioxide as the average person in the world does in a year).

As airlines churn out greenwashing and their strong industry lobby touts “guilt-free” flying (which is nowhere close to reality), it’s important to know how to make a real difference.

How can travel’s hefty carbon footprint be reduced?

The aviation industry is a carbon-heavy growth industry showing no signs of policing itself. A luxury that isn’t shared equally, flying is lightly taxed (it’s widely reported that drivers pay more fuel duty than airlines) – and let’s not even get started on the flying shame of private jets. 

The biggest single thing the travel industry can do is reduce its reliance on flights. (Oh, and in case you were wondering, offsetting isn’t the answer, as Justin Francis at Responsible Travel says “no offset can reverse the impacts of carbon once it enters our atmosphere”.)

At Byway, we know that slow travel saves carbon. Byway has just published our annual Impact Report where Cat, founder and CEO, writes about the strides made towards our flight-free mission between April 2022 and March 2023:

“It’s a year in which we’ve booked over a thousand flight-free holidays and in doing so, saved ten times more carbon than we did the previous year - growing our impact from a small wood of trees to a whole forest!”

What needs to change in the travel industry

In case the transport secretary is reading this, here’s a list of quick wins when it comes to meeting the UK’s commitments to Net Zero:

Tax flights and introduce frequent flyer levies

An estimated 15% of people take 70% of all flights. We believe that the more flights an individual takes, the more tax they should pay.

Ban domestic flights and air miles

France's ban on domestic short haul flights has just been approved by the European Commission and we believe that the UK government should do the same. Air miles should also be axed to deter frequent fliers.

Subsidise lower carbon alternatives

Domestic airlines pay no fuel duty on kerosene (jet fuel) and tickets are zero-rated for VAT, whereas fuel used for road transport is subject to fuel duty and VAT, and Diesel used for passenger rail travel is subject to fuel duty. This needs to change.

Stop discounted flights (the planet picks up the bill)

Low cost airlines fly more frequently and therefore pollute even more. 

Penalise empty flights (goodbye “ghost flights”)

According to the Guardian, a staggering 15,000 ghost flights flew from UK airports between March 2020 and September 2021. These near-empty flights amount to ecocide.

Put an end to travel greenwashing

While it’s true that airlines are improving efficiency with technology innovations, passenger demand far outstrips these modest carbon reductions. There is no way to make flying green and misleading green claims must stop.

Make booking easier for flight-free trips

This last one is where Byway comes in, but also the travel industry needs increased investment in technology, with continued funding from the government.

OK, but what can you do to help?

Individual actions are a catalyst for change. If we want to reduce the climate impact of travel, we need everyone to get involved!

Take flight-free trips

We're not here to flight shame, but creating a movement takes all of us and we all need to fly less! Wherever you can skip a flight, take the train, bus, or boat - travel through the world, instead of over it

Tell your friends!

If they see how great it was, they'll be more likely to try next time.

Look for and ask about sustainability credentials

Demand causes action! This means choosing accommodation, tour operators, restaurants, and other businesses that are committed to reducing their carbon impact on the environment. 

Reduce your consumption

Producing and transporting goods creates carbon and we tend to buy more when we’re going on holiday. Try packing a reusable water bottle and coffee cup, secondhand travel gear, and a reusable shopping bag, and don’t fall into the trap of buying throwaway souvenirs. 

Take local transport versus tourist services

Local transport services are often lower carbon than tourist services (heritage steam trains for example) and also hop-on, hop-off, making for a better experience. The use of local infrastructure can also help justify future investments in lower carbon transport that locals will benefit from.

Advocate for changes at your job

Does your workplace have a sustainable travel policy like Climate Perks (employers offer paid “journey days”)? Does it publish an annual impact report?

Go flexi-air-ian 

Even if you only go flight free one-way, you’re saving carbon. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

Take an interest in policy and activism

Maybe start by signing up to Flight Free UK.

Flight-free travel is not the soggy paper straw of tourism

Decarbonising travel is essential to mitigate the impacts of climate change and preserve the planet for future generations - and happily, low carbon travel makes gorgeous multi-stop holidays.

The flight-centric, fix it in the future industry needs to change, and we don’t think this will happen without customer and policy pressure. We know that carbon is just one element of sustainable travel (see our 2022/23 Impact Report and look out for future blog posts on other key issues), but decarbonising travel is a giant step towards a vibrant sustainable tourism ecosystem that flourishes away from the beaten path.