Global Tourism Carbon Footprint Quantified in World First

Comprehensive supply-chain analysis shows the true cost of our desire to travel.

For the first time, the world's tourism footprint has been quantified across the supply chain -- from flights to souvenirs -- and revealed as a significant and growing contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Small islands attract a disproportionate share of carbon emissions, considering their small populations, through international arrivals, while the United States is responsible for the majority of tourism-generated emissions overall.

The research -- led by world-leading Integrated Sustainability Analysis supply-chain research group at the University of Sydney -- found the global comprehensive tourism footprint of tourism-related greenhouse gas emissions is about four times greater than previous estimates, is growing faster than international trade and is already responsible for almost a tenth of global GHGs.

The researchers recommend financial and technical assistance could help share burdens such as global warming on winter sports, sea-level rise on low-lying islands and pollution impacts on exotic and vulnerable destinations.

A key recommendation:  fly less and pay more, for example for carbon abatement.

A paper about the findings, The carbon footprint of global tourism, publishes Monday in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Climate Change.

Read more at Global Tourism Carbon Footprint Quantified in World First