Smelly side of tourism

Bonn – Domestic and international tourism account for 8% of greenhouse gas emissions, four times more than previously estimated, according to a study published yesterday.

The multi-trillion dollar industry’s carbon footprint is expanding rapidly, driven in large part by demand for energy-intensive air travel, researchers reported in the journal Nature Climate Change.

“Tourism is set to grow faster than many other economic sectors”, with revenue projected to swell by 4% annually through 2025, noted lead-author Arunima Malik, a researcher at The University of Sydney’s business school.

Holding the sector’s carbon pollution in check will likely require carbon taxes or CO2 trading schemes for aviation, the researchers concluded.

As in decades past, the United States is the single largest emitter of tourism-related carbon emissions, with other wealthy nations – Germany, Canada and Britain – also in the top 10.

China is in second place and India, Mexico and Brazil 4th, 5th and 6th, respectively. –