Brits could be banned from going on holiday as 'carbon passports' introduced
A new report has suggested that Brits could be banned from going on holiday as 'carbon passports' are introduced in a bid to slow down climate change
Carbon passports could be introduced to limit the frequency of foreign holidays for UK residents, as part of efforts to combat climate change. Tourism is a significant contributor to climate change, accounting for approximately one-tenth of the greenhouse gas emissions driving the crisis.
Ross Bennett-Cook, a visiting lecturer at the University of Westminster, stated: "The negative impacts of tourism on the environment have become so severe that some are suggesting drastic changes to our travel habits are inevitable.
"In a report from 2023 that analysed the future of sustainable travel, tour operator Intrepid Travel proposed that 'carbon passports' will soon become a reality if the tourism industry hopes to survive."
Ross explained that the concept of a carbon passport involves assigning each traveller a yearly 'carbon allowance' that they cannot exceed. A similar idea, known as "personal carbon trading", was debated in the House of Commons in 2008.
The average annual carbon footprint for a person in the UK is 11.7 tonnes - over five times the figure recommended by the Paris Agreement to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C. The global average is closer to 4 tonnes, and needs to drop to under 2 tonnes by 2050 to stand a chance of slowing climate change.
If your 'carbon allowance' was 2 tonnes, then two return flights from London to New York would use up all of it, reports Devon Live. Ross informed The Conversation that a report by Intrepid Travel predicts the implementation of carbon passports by 2040.
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He further stated: "Between 2013 and 2018, the amount of CO2 emitted by commercial aircrafts worldwide increased by 32%. Improvements in fuel efficiency are slowly reducing per passenger emissions.
"But research from 2014 found that whatever the industry's efforts to reduce its carbon emissions, they will be outweighed by the growth in air traffic. For emission reductions to have any meaningful effect, ticket prices would have to rise by 1.4% each year, discouraging some people from flying. However, in reality, ticket prices are falling."
Several European countries are starting to implement measures to curb air travel. In Belgium, passengers on short-haul flights and older aircraft are now subject to higher taxes.
France has prohibited short-haul domestic flights where the same journey can be completed by train in two-and-a-half hours or less - with similar regulations expected to be introduced in other major European countries in the near future. Ross pointed out: "It's not just air travel that's being criticised.
"An investigation by the European Federation for Transport and Environment in 2023 found that cruise ships pump four times as many sulphuric gases (which are proven to cause acid rain and several respiratory conditions) into the atmosphere than all of Europe's 291 million cars combined. Statistics like these have forced European destinations to take action against the cruise industry."
Amsterdam has prohibited cruise ships from docking in the city centre, and Venice has banned large cruise ships from entering the city's waters. Ross stated: "Intrepid Travel's report also highlights that not only how we travel, but where we travel will soon be impacted by climate change.
"Boiling temperatures will probably diminish the allure of traditional beach destinations, prompting European tourists to search for cooler destinations such as Belgium, Slovenia and Poland for their summer holidays.. Several travel agencies reported seeing noticeable increases in holiday bookings to cooler European destinations like Scandinavia, Ireland and the UK during 2023's peak summer travel months.
"Whatever the solution may be, changes to our travel habits look inevitable. Destinations across the globe, from Barcelona to the Italian riveria and even Mount Everest are already calling for limits on tourist numbers as they struggle to cope with crowds and pollution.
"Holidaymakers should prepare to change their travel habits now, before this change is forced upon them."