CTV News Canada: Carbon footprint of global tourism significantly underestimated: study
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May 11, 2018
Global tourism is responsible for about eight percent of global greenhouse gas emissions -- four times more than previously believed, according to the results of a new study.
The findings, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, show that the environmental impact of globetrotting travelers -- particularly affluent jetsetters -- has been significantly underestimated.
Unlike other studies which quantify the carbon footprint of travel by looking mostly at air travel and transport, a team of researchers from Australia and Taiwan took a more comprehensive approach by considering the "life cycle" of a tourist, expanding the criteria to food, shopping and accommodations.
After looking at tourism-related activities among 160 countries between 2009 and 2013, researchers estimated that tourism's global carbon footprint increased from 3.9 to 4.5 GtCo2e (gigatonnes of equivalent carbon dioxide) -- or four times more than previous estimates.
