Travel by train - make a big difference

Jun 26

Written By Hugh Monney

Be optimistic - and take action!

Re-evaluating how we enjoy our sport in the environmental crisis

We know there’s a problem, and we all love to ski, snowboard, and tour in the winter mountain environment.

What can we do? What choices can we make that will improve the environmental situation?

We need to change the way we do things, to reduce emissions. We can all take action to protect our environment, and together we can reduce future impacts:

High or low carbon emissions make the difference between 70% or 30% less snow.

There’s much more at stake than skiing, of course. The reduced snowfall will create serious water supply problems across entire continents, directly affecting most populations.

So if we want our sport to continue, we need to change the way we do things, to reduce emissions.

Personally, I travel to and from the Alps by train, despite the extra time, expense and inconvenience that it causes me. This is probably the single most effective action we can take, as shown by a survey published by the French government.

Here’s the fascinating summary:

You’ll see that:

Transport accounts for 52% of the environmental impact of a typical skiing day.
- Flying plus airport transfers contribute almost 62Kg of CO2 equivalent per person per day
- Travelling by train and local bus takes you to the resort for 5Kg of CO2 equivalent per person per day - a saving of 92%

So, please, take the train if you can.
It’s one of the most effective actions you can take!

Sharing a car with friends can make a significant contribution, too.

Here’s a chart ranking the effects of different types of transport:

So that shows us the consequences of the various travel choices we make.

It’s not always easy to know which choices are better than others - that’s where Carbon Literacy training from Protect our Winters can help.

Here’s what they say:

Protect Our Winters UK (POW UK) is an outdoors climate action charity which helps passionate outdoor people protect the people and places we love from climate change - for everyone.
Carbon Literacy Training
Protect Our Winters Carbon Literacy Training (CLT) is a one-day course, or online course, that empowers you to take effective climate action. It will teach you the science behind climate change, giving you an awareness of the carbon costs and impacts of everyday activities alongside the ability and motivation to reduce emissions.
Tailored for passionate outdoor people like you and designed to the Carbon Literacy Standard, developed by the UN-recognised Carbon Literacy Project, you'll be learning the most up-to-date science and be able to tackle those difficult conversations head-on.
see the courses available here!

We can be optimistic, as long as we take action!

Best regards,

Hugh

Thanks to Protect Our Winters for letting me use the information they compiled from the original sources.