Travel

Domestic travel accounts for around 27% of UK emissions – even without factoring in aviation and shipping. We need to swap private cars for public transport, cycling and walking and swap planes for travelling by train.

Significantly reducing the carbon emissions from transport will not be easy. Carbon emissions in this sector are increasing, with around three quarters of road traffic being from cars and taxis (2018). Traffic is also one of the major causes of outdoor air pollution, which is linked to around 36,000 UK deaths per year. While sales of electric vehicles (evs) are increasing, these pale into insignificance when compared to the huge rise in high emission sports utility vehicles, which outsell electric cars by 37 to one.

The airline industry is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. Yet it is only a small percentage of people that travel by plane. Here are a few facts:

• Less than 10% of the world’s population has ever been on a plane
• 64% of UK flights taken in 2017 were for holidays
• In 2018 Brits took more international flights than any other nationality, despite making up less than 1% of the global population.

Locally, Gatwick Airport is planning to use its emergency runway as a routinely-used second runway to boost its capacity, increasing the number of flights by 100,000 per year and doubling passenger numbers to around 80 million. This will impact the local area by increasing noise and air pollution and health issues. Stay Grounded has recently published a report into the significant health issues associated with air traffic. CAGNE (Campaign Against Gatwick Noise Emiisions), GACC (Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign) and Extinction Rebellion South East are three local groups opposing Gatwick’s plans.

More walking or cycling

In England around 60% of 1-2 mile trips are made by car! (National Travel Survey 2018) Walking or cycling more, rather than driving, saves money and connects us with nature, improving our physical and mental wellbeing.

Swap planes for trains

70% of UK flights are taken by just 15% of Brits. If you take multiple flights a year, when it comes to taking personal action on climate change, each flight that you avoid will reduce your carbon footprint significantly.

Seat 61 is a website dedicated to help you research and plan your journey by train, to places all over the world!