Is it possible to be an environmentalist who travels the world?

I wanted to write my first blog post on this, as it is a question that I often ask myself, but that I haven’t heard many other people talk about. I consider myself to be an environmentalist and believe that combating climate change to protect the environment is the most important issue of current times. Over the past few years, I have made conscious decisions to try and live in the most environmentally friendly way possible. This has included cutting out meat from my diet and avoiding animal by-products, drastically reducing my consumption of single-use plastics, protesting with climate activist groups and becoming a minimalist. But how do these things compare to one of my biggest passions, travel?

In recent years I have started to question if it is morally right of me to preach about sustainability and the environment, and then to fly to the other side of the world purely for my enjoyment. How can I say that I am an environmentalist if I save up to buy commercial flights, which are a major contributor to global emissions? On the other hand, I treasure opportunities to travel to new countries, meet new people and experience and learn about the world’s many different cultures. These experiences bring so much joy to my life. So how can I do both, be an environmentalist and travel, without contradicting my own morals?

Ultimately, other than sailing around the world in a wind-powered dinghy, or walking from my front door to my chosen location (which could get tricky!), there isn’t really an efficient way to travel that doesn’t have a negative environmental impact. I have seen for myself the impact that global warming is having on the beautiful natural landscapes, societies and environments I have travelled to visit, and am aware that the best way to lower my carbon footprint would be to not travel at all. This poses a personal and never-ending dilemma: my morals vs my happiness. To cope with this dilemma, there are a few things that I do to lessen the impact my travelling has on the environment, and to validate these trips to myself. I am, however, painfully aware that this doesn’t take away from the fact that travel is, unavoidably, bad for the environment. 

Firstly, if the reason for travel is just a holiday, I always try to go somewhere closer to home that I can avoid flying to. For example, a week camping in Wales can be just as enjoyable as a week on a Spanish beach. If I do really want to go further afield, I always try to go for an extended period of time, usually at least a couple of months, to make the length of the trip worth the emissions. 

Secondly, I try to use my time abroad in a constructive way, rather than just sightseeing. For example, in the past I’ve used my travels to volunteer and aid small third-world communities (although there are significant issues surrounding voluntourism which I will address in a future post), and to further my education. My hope is that by volunteering in many different communities, I can become someone who has a greater understanding of global issues. By travelling I am able to witness first hand the issues affecting developing countries and the natural world, and gain a new perspective on what the best solutions may be. These experiences will help me expand my skill-set, enabling me to make lasting, positive change in the future, both at home and abroad, to offset the negative impact of my previous trips. 

Finally, I have always offset the carbon from my flights. Carbon offsetting is something that’s talked about a lot in conjunction with flying, however I’m unsure of its effectiveness. Firstly, when comparing different airlines, the actual amount of carbon they estimate you need to offset can be vastly different. This makes me wonder how, even if, they’re calculating this correctly, or if it’s just some arbitrary number. There are some sites that seem to have a more detailed breakdown of the calculations, however it’s still hard to understand where these numbers come from, and if they’re at all accurate. Additionally, the top down nature of the offsetting projects, as well as a significant lack of follow up investigation and monitoring makes it impossible to know if the projects are actually as successful and positive as one would hope. For example, planting 100 trees is a great step, but not so great if only 5 survive due to a lack of maintenance and care. Or what if one such reforestation project ends in the displacement of a local community? Overall, I think although the idea of carbon offsetting is valid, the execution leaves much to be desired. 

At the end of the day, I feel there is just no way to avoid the fact that travelling (at least air travel) is not environmentally friendly. Until airlines either start more stringent monitoring and regulation of their carbon offsetting programmes, or begin investing more into greener technologies, flying is never going to be an environmentally friendly way to travel. I try to lower my impact using the methods explained above, but I’m aware that it would just be better if I travelled less. This is an ethical dilemma that I struggle with constantly. More and more people are wanting to, and becoming able to travel, but is this okay as we start to see the destructive impact of climate change becoming the norm? These are the kinds of conversations that need to be started, now more than ever.

What do you think? Am I a hypocrite for caring about the environment but also wanting to travel? I don’t really know the answer to all of this, I want to keep travelling but I also care deeply about our planet, and I’m not alone. I’m working on making the way I travel as sustainable as possible, but I know it’s not really enough. How do we work together, fast, to make sure that there are still beautiful places left to travel to?