Low-carbon travel that doesn’t suck

In partnership with

Hi everyone,

Summer is almost here, which means it’s time for many of us to begin planning trips and holidays.

Travel is often one of the most important pieces of our lives. It’s where we make precious memories with friends and family, or see incredible new places. However, it’s also a major carbon contributor, with global travel and tourism responsible for around 8% of total emissions. Even more concerning is how quickly that number is growing.

The good news is that there’s a wave of tech making it easier than ever to explore the world without destroying it.

Here is what low-carbon travel looks like, and the tech that makes it possible.

Trains are back (and better)

Rail travel is starting to gain momentum when it comes to regional and even international travel. Europe has seen a major resurgence over the past few years, with a combination of new high-speed connections, better night train routes and user-friendly apps encouraging more people to swap short-haul flights for the train.

Online platforms like Rail Europe, Trainline and Omio make it much easier to plan trips across the entire continent without the need for complex spreadsheets or 15 different booking confirmation emails!

New services like the European Sleeper are making overnight travel more popular again, letting travellers wake up in a new country with a lighter footprint.

Trains emit around 90% less CO₂ than a plane would on the same route. The more seamless and connected rail becomes, the easier the decision to take the less harmful option becomes.

Multi-modal made easy

To travel sustainably, we don’t need to ditch travel altogether, we just need to rethink how we approach and plan it.

Apps like Rome2Rio let you plan how to get from point A to point B (literally anywhere on earth) using combinations of trains, ferries, buses, bikes, and even walking!

These routes aren’t always as simple or fast as flying, but the more accessible we can make them, the more climate-friendly travel becomes real, bookable routes rather than just a vague idea!

Embracing slow travel

Modern life has us all going so fast that sometimes the simple answer is that we just need to slow down. Sure, flying is typically the quickest option from A to B, but people are starting to embrace a slower-paced approach to travel, with ships and ferries making a comeback.

Not only do these options produce lower emissions than flights, but they’re getting greener over time. In Norway, electric ferries are already in service, and companies like SailLink are exploring wind-powered ferry routes across the English Channel!

Slowing down also lets people enjoy the journey, not just the destination. Seeing places you’d normally fly over, stopping off in small towns, and leaving behind the usual travel chaos can be a great way to start a holiday!

Flights still have their place

Some flights are unavoidable, and that’s ok. But the aviation industry isn’t standing still.

I went into detail on this in a post a few months back (The Future of Flight), but here are some areas we can be excited by:

• Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) made from waste oils, plant material, or even captured CO₂ is starting to roll out.

• Electric short-haul planes are in development for short-haul flights.

• Some airlines like KLM and Lufthansa are experimenting with climate transparency tools that let you pick low-impact routes or offset your emissions.

None of this fixes the problem of aviation overnight, but they’re all a part of a bigger push to move the industry towards a sustainable future.

Little choices, big impact

The best part of all this is that you don’t need to be perfect to make a difference. Small choices, multiplied across millions of trips, all add up to a major impact.

Low-carbon travel isn’t about saying no to trips and holidays, it’s about finding better, more sustainable ways to say yes.

And if the tech, tools, and transport available to us keep improving at the rate they are now, we might be heading toward a world where sustainable travel is the norm, rather than an exception.

See you next week,
James

Learn AI in 5 minutes a day

This is the easiest way for a busy person wanting to learn AI in as little time as possible:

1. Sign up for The Rundown AI newsletter

2. They send you 5-minute email updates on the latest AI news and how to use it

3. You learn how to become 2x more productive by leveraging AI

Sign up to start learning.