Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, crossed the Atlantic in a solar-powered, emissions-free yacht as part of a 15-day voyage to UN Climate Week in order to raise further awareness of her urgent message on climate change. As well as pointing out that avoiding flying is one of the most effective individual actions we can do to reduce our carbon footprint, she also brought to our attention something that not many Americans (or Brits for that matter) are thinking about right now: flight shame.
Aeroplanes burn fossil-fuel based jet fuel that emit greenhouse gases, and air travel is responsible for around 2 to 5 percent of the world’s carbon emissions.
So, as our consciousness rises, it’s little wonder that flight shame and quitting flying is led by the traction we’re seeing in Thunberg’s native Sweden, where domestic flying is falling and train trips are growing in popularity.
But this goes beyond the individual level in Sweden. Big companies like IKEA (Inkga Group) are also looking at ways to lower the number of flights that employees need to take.
Companies are successfully helping to reduce flights by introducing better technology for virtual meetings, and making videoconferencing part of company culture. The added bonus being, that reducing flights saves the companies money too.
The important thing to remember is that the flight shame movement is less about making people feel guilty, and is more about us all feeling accountable for your carbon footprint. The positive of considering alternative ways of travelling is that we rediscover the joys of slow travel and the rewards of taking our time enjoying the journey.
View the video below to learn more about some alternative travel options we can take to reduce our carbon footprint.