Eco Travel Looms Large at World Tourism Forum

Eco travel is not a new concept but it is ever front and center these days at travel and tourism conferences as the world edges closer to unsustainable climate change. At the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the Sustainable Global Tourism Center held last month in Saudi Arabia, new findings on eco travel were in motion with updated comprehensive research across all regions that will be now be revisited each year with the latest figures.

Previous estimates have suggest that the global Travel & Tourism sector was responsible for up to 11% of all emissions. However, WTTC’s pioneering research shows that in 2019 the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions totaled 8.1% globally – a little good news but still of concern.

The divergence of the sector’s economic growth from its climate footprint between 2010 and 2019 is evidence that Travel & Tourism’s economic growth is decoupling from its greenhouse gas emissions, which have been falling consistently since 2010 as the result of technological developments and the introduction of a number of energy efficiency measures across industries within the sector.

Environmental And Social Research

Between 2010 and 2019 our sector’s GDP has grown on average 4.3% annually but its environmental footprint has only increase by 2.4%.

The broader Environmental & Social Research (ESR) involve with eco travel will include measures of the sector’s impact against a range of indicators, including pollutants, energy sources, water use, as well as social data, including age, wage and gender profiles of Travel & Tourism related employment.

“Until now we did not have a sector-wide way to accurately measure our climate footprint. This data will give governments the detail information they need to make progress against the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” said Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO. 

“Travel & Tourism is making huge strides to decarbonize, but Governments must set the framework. We need a steely focus on increasing the production of Sustainable Aviation fuels with Government incentives. The technology exists. We also need greater use of renewable energy in our national grids – so when we turn on a light in a hotel room, it is using a sustainable energy source. 8.1% is the stake in the ground. The key is to become more efficient and decoupling the rate at which we grow from the amount of energy we consume from today, every decision, every change, will lead to a better and brighter future for all.”

Eco Travel, Climate Change and Airlines

The world’s aviation sector has also increasingly focused on the issue of climate change. There is a shadow over air travel itself as global surface and atmospheric temperatures rise due to the continuous use of fossil fuels. Our recognized ways of life, particularly people whose livelihoods depend on air travel, are also suffering cascading effects in addition to harm to our air and weather patterns. 

The world’s largest airlines are cooperating in silos to develop environmentally friendly jet fuels with plant infusions as a gesture toward their own eco travel initiatives. Additionally, they are aiming toward a number of deadlines and zero carbon emission goals. Others are considering novel carriage technology, including supersonic and eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft. 

However, with global air traffic expected to reach record highs in 2022, there are much more immediate worries about air safety and shifting weather patterns that are turning airline CEOs and aviation engineers gray. 

The simple issue of heat is one of these worries. Many areas, particularly in the southwest of the US, had extended heatwaves that broke records in September. According to new predictions, rather than 2050, the average global temperature would rise over 1.5 degrees C by 2026. The last seven years have been the warmest on record for the planet, and there is a nearly 50% possibility that the next few years may bring about “tipping points” in the climate system. 

Commercial Aviation

What does this portend for eco travel and efforts from the commercial aviation sector in the near future? More frequent episodes of hazardous turbulence, risky wind patterns, and runway problems that will affect takeoffs, landings, and weight restrictions are some of the current worries. According to research done using a Boeing 737-800 aircraft as a model and published by the American Meteorological Society, the frequency of special weight-restricted days between May and September at just four major U.S. airports will rise by 50% to 200% by 2050-2070. 

Simply said, colder temperatures result in less dense air. In turn, this impact lessens headwinds and the lift that can uses to elevate an airplane’s wings. Particularly during the summer, heavier aircraft will have trouble reaching takeoff speed and therefore require longer runways to manage this effect. Where runways are too short, aircraft will need to carry less weight. 

A warming world also means more intense turbulence everywhere, as was the case on a SpiceJet Boeing 737-800 flight out of Mumbai in May. Turbulence on that flight seriously injured 14 people (turbulence is still the leading cause of injuries to airline passengers and crew, according to the FAA). 

Turbulence: Eco Travel

More turbulence can be anticipate as global warming increases wind shear events along the jet stream, according to Paul Williams, professor of atmospheric science at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, who spoke in July to the Sustainable Aviation Futures Congress in Amsterdam. The jet stream is 15% more heavily sheare now than it was in the 1970s when satellite measurements first started, according to a wealth of data. And this is what mostly creates clear air turbulence (CAT), which is a lot of turbulence. That is a significant shift. According to our calculations, the impact of climate change will generate twice as much or three times as much severe turbulence in the next decades. 

Wind drought is a third, less-noticed effect of climate change that threatens the aviation sector. As a result, there is a developing phenomenon on Earth known as “global stilling” that is anticipated to intensify as the cold Arctic air warms and causes smaller temperature differences between hot and cold locations (the temperature difference is what propels large-scale winds around the world). 

As a result, headwind strength and speed will gradually weaken, requiring shallower climbing angles and longer takeoff and landing distances. Airlines will require longer runways, lighter aircraft and cargoes, and innovative strategies to deal with and safeguard passengers from the anticipated increases in turbulence at altitude in order to operate safely. 

The airline business is in for a rough ride both now and in the future, regardless of whether new fuels are discovered to prevent future spikes and warning signs on our warming globe or whether new forms of quick, long-distance transportation can be appropriately adapted in search of solutions.