“My generation won’t be able to fly other than for emergencies”
Greta Thunberg wrote on Facebook:
“After the COP24 I have been invited to speak in places like Panama, New York, San Francisco, Abu Dhabi, Vancouver, British Virgin Islands… But sadly our remaining carbon budget will not allow any such travels.
My generation won’t be able to fly other than for emergencies in a foreseeable future, if we are to be the least bit serious about the 1.5 degree warming limit. Why? Because adult generations in countries like mine have used up our resources.
I will try to make it to as many places as possible without flying. And also participate via video link. Also tag your climate actions with me, so we can show the world what actions are going on for climate change.
And of course stop flying and go vegan alone is not the solution.
We have to aim for a zero carbon lifestyle as soon as possible. Political decisions are necessary. But as they do not exist yet we have to do what we can ourselves to make the political movement come alive.“
~ Greta Thunberg
“No hypocrisy. No double standard. Pure, simple common sense and conscience. Thank you Greta! What an example you are for all of us!”
~ Nathalia Assaad
Frequent flyer levy
“History will be kind to the protesters who plan to stop flights at Heathrow airport. They are climate heroes.”
“The socially just solution is the frequent flyer levy proposed by the Free Ride coalition. There would be no aviation tax for the first flight in any year that a person takes, but escalating taxes on subsequent flights. Set at the right level, the levy would avert the need for airport expansion, and steadily scale down the industry.”
~ George Monbiot – 10 September 2019: Grounded
“As this summer’s tourism season draws to a close, anyone in a half-sane society would choose this moment to stop going on far-flung vacations. That’s a hard thing for a travel writer to admit. After family and friends, travel is pretty much my favorite thing—not only my source of income, but an inexhaustible wellspring of curiosity, empathy, and wonder. Yet optional travel is also a major contributor to ecocide.”
~ Henry Wismayer
→ The Atlantic – 2 September 2019:
A Future Without Long-Haul Vacations
“As a global climate crisis deepens, even professional travelers should cut back on their air miles.”
→ The Independent – 16 August 2019:
Why a ‘Green Flying Duty’ is vital to combat climate change
Article by Justin Francis, CEO of Responsible Travel
→ Responsible Travel:
A Manifesto for the Future of Tourism
Chapter one: Aviation and the Climate Crisis
→ The Independent – 5 June 2019:
Flygskam: What is the flight-shaming environmental movement that’s sweeping Europe?
“The anti-flying movement is growing. Hear the word flygskam out of context, and you’d be forgiven for mistaking it for the next big Scandavian lifestyle craze, following in the snuggly, good-vibes footsteps of hygge and lykke. But this latest trend is more about tackling climate change than getting cosy – here’s everything you need to know about the anti-flying movement that’s sweeping northern Europe.”
→ ABC News – 4 May 2019:
Is giving up flying the best way to stop climate change?
→ The Guardian – 6 April 2010:
Aviation Q&A: the impact of flying on the environment
“Flying is a heated topic. But if there is no such thing as an ‘eco-friendly’ flight, is grounding planes the only option?”
→ The Times of Israel – 22 January 2019:
What would it mean for the world if we stopped flying — in a flying finish?
Scientists and academics who fly less
“We feel that global warming poses a clear, present, and dire danger for humanity. In an era of obvious climate change, we believe that it’s important to align our daily life choices with that reality in order to raise public urgency and enable large-scale change. Actions speak louder than words.
We try to fly as little as possible while pushing for systemic change, especially through our home institutions. These are our stories – why we fly less, and what that means in a society that still rewards frequent flying.“
NoFlyClimateSci is a site for those who fly less to share their stories, and in so doing realise they aren’t alone in their climate urgency. The website is run by climate scientist and author Peter Kalmus who “doesn’t like burning fossil fuel, and so tries to minimise his use of the stuff. He runs this site as a public service.”
→ noflyclimatesci.org
→ Euronews – 29 November 2018:
Swedes launch campaign asking people to give up air travel in 2019#FlightFree2019
“Two Swedish mums have persuaded 10,000 people to commit to not taking any flights in 2019. Their social media initiative, No-fly 2019 (Flygfritt 2019), is aiming for 100,000 pledges, and has been asking participants to post their reasons for signing up. Maja Rosen and her neighbour Lotta Hammar say they started the campaign to show politicians what needs to be done to halt climate change.”
→ BBC – 30 November 2018:
The two Swedish mums who want people to give up flying for a year
Climate change affects flying
Flying causes climate change, and ironically, climate change is leading to more complications in how we fly. In June 2018, members of the Airports Council International’s general assembly adopted a resolution encouraging members to take climate change effects into account for risk assessments and future plans:
→ Financial Times – 30 December 2018:
Airlines prepare for blizzard of climate challenges
“Risks include flooded airports, storm delays, clear-air turbulence and take-off peril”
→ We Don’t Have Time – 1 January 2019:
The smart way to make others give up flying
“It may be difficult to stop flying when ”everyone else” is doing it. But what if you weren’t alone? What if you instead were one of 100,000?”
“I can no longer defend flying”
“With all the knowledge that I have about global warming and with all that I see happening around the world – extreme weather, flash flooding, drought, heat waves, superstorms – I now think the situation is so serious that I can no longer defend flying. And therefore I will stop doing it.”
~ Jesper Møller Grimstrup, Danish PhD researcher in theoretical physics
→ DW – 22 November 2018:
Could eco-friendly flying be on the horizon?
“Air travel is the fastest-growing source of carbon emissions. But could green tech and optimization mean that one day, we’ll be able to hop on a plane with a guilt-free conscience?”
Going car-free
Ditch the car“To reduce emissions, the highest-emitting people in the world have to change a lot about how we live our lives — and driving is the most obvious thing to go.”
» Grist:
Save money and change your life with this New Year’s resolution
» You can do the calculations for your own lifestyle using the same method Grist used:
How I calculated going car-free
Green transport
Free buses introduced in French city
“The increase in passengers since it went free has surprised us; now we have to keep them. We’re trying to make people look at buses differently. We have put the bus back into people’s head as a means of transport, and it has changed attitudes.
“Before, when they paid, it was a service and they were customers. They may have been only contributing 10% of the cost of running the service but they thought it was theirs. Now it’s a public service they look at it differently. They say ‘bonjour’ to the driver, they talk to each other. We are changing perceptions and transforming the city with more vivre ensemble. We are reinventing the public space.
“Before the bus was for those who had no choice: the young, the old, the poor who don’t have cars. Now it’s for everyone.”
→ The Guardian – 15 October 2018:
‘I leave the car at home’: how free buses are revolutionising one French city
“Dunkirk is a month into a project that makes it the biggest European city to offer entirely free public transport to residents and visitors alike. So what do people think?”
→ The New Daily – 22 October 2018:
Why an ultra-fast charger network marks a turning point for Australia’s uptake of electric cars
→ Electrek – 25 August 2018:
Tesla Semi made it ‘across the country alone’ with only Supercharger network and an extension cord, says Elon Musk
→ Bloomberg – 2 October 2018:
Denmark to Ban Sale of Fossil Fuel Cars in 2030, Boost EV Sales
“Denmark will ban the sale of new fossil-fueled cars in 2030 and aims to have more than 1 million electric or hybrid vehicles on its roads by then, Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told parliament.”
→ Reuters – 2 January 2018:
Norway’s electric cars zip to new record: almost a third of all sales
“In a bid to cut emissions, Norway exempts battery-driven cars from most taxes and offers free parking and charging points.”
“To support the shift away from fossil fuel powered vehicles to more sustainable alternatives, our eMobility range is growing year on year with a range of choice in hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles.”
~ Mercedes
→ Climate Action – 5 September 2018
Mercedes unveil new electric car, EQC
“Mercedes-Benz have revealed their new electric car which is set to launch in 2019. The company is investing more than £9 billion in the expansion of its electric range. By 2022, they will offer 10 pure battery electric vehicles, this starts in 2019 with the launch of the EQC, which has a range of 450 kilometres.”
Queensland researchers’ breakthrough
Australian fuel could soon be in high demand for hydrogen-powered cars across Asia. It’s the first time hydrogen cars have been powered with a fuel derived from ammonia. Both Toyota and Hyundai have invested millions of dollars into hydrogen-powered cars
→ ABC News – 8 August 2018:
Hydrogen fuel breakthrough in Queensland could fire up massive new export market
“Two cars powered by hydrogen derived from ammonia will be tested in Brisbane today thanks to a Queensland breakthrough that CSIRO researchers say could turn Australia into a renewable energy superpower.”
“The world wants to electrify vehicles. I’ve never seen such a massive industry say [it wants] to completely switch technologies. Every single company, government and country — they all want to do it worldwide.”
~ Michael Zimmerman, who runs Ionic Materials, a start-up revolutionizing electric vehicle battery technology, in Financial Times
→ Quartz – 21 September 2018:
The world’s first hydrogen-powered train makes (almost) complete sense
→ Electrive – 11 September 2018:
EU Parliament ready to tighten rules for CO2 cut
“More ambitious carbon dioxide reduction targets have been backed by the Environmental Committee of the EU Parliament. MEPs voted to reduce emissions of cars and vans by 45 percent by 2030 and set an interim goal of 20 percent reduction by 2025. These targets are considerable tighter than the EU Commissions initial draft targets of 15 percent by 2025 and 30 percent by 2030 compared to 2021 levels.”
Low-carbon travelling with ZeroBNB
“The future of travel accommodation just got zeroed,” wrote the Finnish renewable energy company Neste when it introduced Zerobnb, a site where people across the world can list sustainable alternatives for holiday lodging.
This act is a gentle nudge to inspire the world’s biggest accommodation-sharing site Airbnb to add a sustainable housing section onto their site, and will only be live until Airbnb adds this essential category.
→ Zerobnb.com – encouraging Airbnb to add sustainable accommodation category
Growing demand for more sustainable travel
Kaisa Lipponen, Director of Neste Corporation, wrote on 24 October 2018:
Airbnb, the world’s biggest accommodation-sharing site, has advanced sustainable tourism, but the demand for more ecological travel is growing. Whilst the site features categories such as ‘Plus’ and ‘Family’, it is missing something essential: a category for sustainable accommodation.
Hoping to gently provoke Airbnb into adding the essential category, Neste, the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and the second most sustainable company in the world is introducing Zerobnb.com. It is a site where people can list sustainable alternatives for holiday accommodation. The site will be live only until Airbnb creates a sustainable category of their own.
What is Zerobnb?
Zerobnb is a website that displays sustainable housings for travel accommodation from private owners. Released on International Day of Climate Action, 24 October, it taps into the sustainability requirements of the modern globetrotter. With the demand for more sustainable travel growing in recent years and tourism causing almost a tenth of global greenhouse gas emissions, it’s time to make every journey a journey towards zero emissions.
“The demand for more sustainable travel is growing, but when you are not an expert, it can be very demanding to evaluate whether a certain accommodation is sustainable or not. This is why it is important to make sustainable alternatives more accessible for everyone. Our goal is to provoke discussion and we are hoping that this will inspire Airbnb to add a sustainable accommodation category onto their site,“ says Sirpa Tuomi, Director of Marketing at Neste.
The accommodation options displayed on Zerobnb are chosen according to their sustainable aspects. Listings can climb the sustainable ladder by adding features such as a proper recycling area or by encouraging guests to minimize plastic waste through house rules. The surrounding neighbourhood should naturally feature sustainable services, transportation options and restaurants.
‘Journey to Zero’ initiative
The Zerobnb project is a part of Neste’s Journey to Zero initiative, where Neste focuses on finding sustainable solutions for building a fossil free future. The company’s prior Journey to Zero executions include the Zero Island and Nolla cabin campaigns. Nolla, a cabin with minimal to zero emissions, was enlisted on Airbnb and sold out in minutes – making a compelling case for the need of sustainable tourism.”
~ Kaisa Lipponen
Director, Corporate Communications and Brand Marketing
Neste Corporation
About Neste in brief
“Neste creates sustainable solutions for transport, business, and consumer needs. Our wide range of renewable products enable our customers to reduce climate emissions. We are the world’s largest producer of renewable diesel refined from waste and residues, introducing renewable solutions also to the aviation and plastics industries. We are also a technologically advanced refiner of high-quality oil products. We want to be a reliable partner with widely valued expertise, research, and sustainable operations. In 2017, Neste’s revenue stood at EUR 13.2 billion. In 2018, Neste placed 2nd on the Global 100 list of the most sustainable companies in the world.”
→ Photos and videos:
| www.neste.com/journeytozero