At the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Azerbaijan, researchers presented a study revealing that tourism is responsible for nearly 9% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The study, led by Dr. Ya-Yen Sun from the University of Queensland, found that emissions from tourism have surged by 40% over the past decade, reaching 5.2 gigatonnes of CO₂ in 2019.
"This rapid growth of the sector, combined with its carbon-intensive nature, especially associated with flights and private vehicles, poses a huge challenge to global emission reduction efforts," Sun said, according to JAM Broadcasting.
The study tracked international and domestic travel in 175 countries between 2009 and 2019, estimating carbon footprints for inbound, outbound, and domestic tourism. It found that tourism's global carbon footprint increased from 3.7 gigatonnes to 5.2 gigatonnes during that period, according to Nature. Aviation accounted for more than half of direct tourism emissions, making it a key obstacle in efforts to decarbonize the sector.
The demand for travel is growing by 3.8% per year, reported Der Standard. This growth has outpaced technological efficiency gains, which have improved by only 0.3% per year, according to Público. As a result, emissions from tourism are increasing more than twice as fast as those from the global economy, which grew by 1.5% annually.
Three countries alone produced 39% of global tourism-related emissions in 2019: the United States (19%), China (15%), and India (6%), according to Le Monde. The study found that growth in domestic travel in these countries contributed most to the absolute rise in emissions. "Without urgent interventions in the global tourism industry, we anticipate annual increases in emissions of three to four percent, meaning they will double every 20 years," Sun warned, as reported by The Echo.
The research revealed significant disparities in tourism emissions between high-income and low-income countries. Wealthier nations, where people travel more and pollute more, are primarily responsible for the increase, as noted by La Repubblica. In contrast, low-income countries bear only 0.04 tons of CO₂ equivalent per capita in outbound travel emissions, according to the publication in Nature.
The researchers propose bold measures to address the issue. "Reducing long-haul flights is one of the recommendations we've put forward to help the industry lower its emissions, along with targeted measures such as carbon dioxide taxes, carbon budgets, and alternative fuel obligations," Sun stated, as reported by Phys.org. At the local level, tourism operators are encouraged to use renewable energies for accommodation, dining, and leisure activities. They could also switch to electric vehicles powered by clean energy, according to ABC News Australia.
To meet the Paris Agreement targets, the sector must reduce its emissions by more than 10% annually until 2050. Currently, "efforts are entirely voluntary and mainly at the corporate level," as Dr. Sun stated, according to Le Monde. She called for governments to formally measure tourism emissions as a first step toward addressing the issue.
"It is worth considering the idea of a vacation closer to home," Sun concluded, as reported by UOL.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq