A radical way to cut emissions – ration everyone’s flights | Sonia Sodha

An individual cap on air travel, that people can trade with each other, would help to reduce the impact of flyingMaybe it’s just because I’m back from a bank holiday weekend in north Wales that was filled with glorious Mediterranean-style sunshine. But reading about a new study that says global tourism now accounts for 8% of carbon emissions, three times more than was previously thought made me think– surely we can do better?Whenever I hear about the impact global tourism has on the environment I experience a pang of guilt. While it’s not just the greenhouse gases churned out by planes that are the problem – the study points out it’s also what tourists do when they get to their destination – they account for a big chunk. And yet it’s a pang of guilt I never act on. It’s just too easy to ignore when it’s often cheaper to get a short-hop flight to somewhere sunny than it is to buy an off-peak return on the train to many parts of the UK. Related: How airlines can fly around new carbon rules Related: How to reduce your carbon footprint #GlobalWarning Continue reading...