TOURISM'S CARBON FLIGHTPATH

Monday, 17 August 2020 - 5:00pm to 6:00pm

17TH AUGUST 2020

Production: Vivien Langford. Podcast: Andy Britt

Interviews: James Whitmore and Kurt Johnson

TOURISM'S CARBON FLIGHTPATH

GUESTS

Dr Arunima Malik - Sydney University

Sheldon Chanel - Senior journalist in Fiji

Maja Rosen - Founder of Flight Free in Sweden

Roger Tyers - Southampton University

 

We're all armchair travellers now so James, Kurt and Viv regaled each other with  favourite travel moments. James discovered antiquity in Italy. Kurt, whose terrific travel book The Red Wake took him to the ex Soviet nations, witnessed a rocket launch in Khazakhstan. Viv had an unforgettable experience when she stepped into the Zenana carriage on an Indian train.

https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-red-wake-9780857987068 The Red Wake

 

But since the Paris Climate Accord in 2015 left aviation and shipping to regulate themselves, the impact of tourism is now 8% of global emissions and rising.

We look at how to travel better as James interviews Dr Arunima Malik. Her article in Nature Climate Change is called The carbon footprint of global tourism https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0141-x.

 

Then Kurt takes us to the Pacific. Dependence on tourism means a lot of people out of work. 80% of their food is imported and with the tourist planes grounded many hotel workers have returned to their villages. However, their determination to get climate action is undiminished. Sheldon Chanel's  latest article is 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/11/pacific-states-face-instability-hunger-and-slow-road-to-covid-recovery-dame-meg-taylor

And his original piece: https://blogs.griffith.edu.au/asiainsights/covid-19-delivers-a-body-blow-to-pacific-tourism/


Viv considers how we have learned to stay at home for the common health good of others during the pandemic.   Staying on the ground for the common good of our survival is a hard conversation to have. We hear from Maja Rosen who started the FlightFree movement in Sweden and Roger Tyers who talks about offsets. His article "What the aviation industry really thinks about climate change will open your eyes. https://flightfree.co.uk/post/behind-the-veil-what-the-aviation-industry-really-thinks-about-climate-change/

 

The power of models like Greta Thunberg, who sailed to America and back, is to wake us up. Professor Kevin Anderson, who works in climate science between UK and Sweden is as famous for his train trips as his radical awareness. He speaks to people in the rich worlds for whom cheap flights and package cruises have become the norm. Now  that we have been slowed down by COVID 19 will the thought of the Ruby Princess and the Quarantine hotels force  us  to put our well educated minds to a new norm?

We're not all in the same boat. We are, however, in the same storm ...

The article that got us started is a long read. The story of the Komodo Dragon's unlikely saviour in COVID times is here as well as magnificent photos.

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/jun/18/end-of-tourism-coronavirus-pandemic-travel-industry

Monday 5:00pm to 6:00pm
Climate change - what's hot and what's not. Find out what is happening in community campaigns around the country, as well as the latest science and the solutions that are available now.

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Climate Action Collective

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