At a time when consciences are slowly awakening to the impact of our way of life on the environment, travel remains an area for which we ask ourselves many questions, in particular "Is it possible to travel without emitting CO²? (we think of Greta Thunberg and her transatlantic crossing aboard a “zero emission” sailboat). The Sailsquare site, which offers sailing cruises in Europe, has looked into the issue and studied the carbon impact of the different means of transport. First observation:yes, traveling without emitting CO² is a utopia. On the other hand, there are ways of traveling that are more responsible (and therefore more sustainable) than others. Here are 3 points to keep in mind.
We know it:traveling by plane is an environmental heresy, since a trip in the air is equivalent to 255 g of CO² emitted per kilometer and per passenger. For comparison, the train is at 41 g/km/passenger, the bus at 28 g/km/passenger and the sailboat at 18 g/km/passenger. What is less well known is that cruise ships are the worst, with 322 g of CO² emitted per kilometer and per passenger (and that's not to mention noise pollution, waste dumping at sea or even overconsumption on board…). Clearly, travel by plane and ship is limited as much as possible. Good to know:used solo, the car is a very polluting means of transport (171 g / km / passenger), but in carpooling with a full car, its impact is clearly limited (“only” 43 g / km / passenger).
There are so many beautiful things to see in the world that the idea of not flying anymore seems difficult to conceive... Yes, but:before thinking about traveling the planet, have you already seen the wonders France and neighboring countries in Europe? By train or bus, it only takes a few hours (the same as by plane, if you count the time spent reaching the airport, waiting for the plane, picking up your luggage) to be in Barcelona , Milan, London or Amsterdam. And we are not talking about the breathtaking landscapes in Brittany, the beauty and calm of the Ardèche, the gastronomy of the Basque Country, etc.
If despite our good will, we can't help taking the plane from time to time (the cruise liner, we imagine we can avoid it...), especially for work, we can decide offset its CO² emissions. How so ? Tools made available by associations (such as the Good Planet Foundation or the MyClimate Foundation) "translate" a journey (by specifying the mode of transport used) into a quantity of CO² and offer to make a donation of an amount corresponding to these emissions to projects for climate protection and/or aimed at improving the living conditions of local populations.
Come on, let's get started!
