Carbon dioxide emissions of Antarctic tourism

Abstract The increase of tourism to the Antarctic continent may entail not only local but also global environmental impacts. These latter impacts, which are mainly caused by transport, have been generally ignored. As a result, there is a lack of data on the global impacts of Antarctic tourism in ter...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Authors: Farreny, Ramon, Oliver-Solà, Jordi, Lamers, Machiel, Amelung, Bas, Gabarrell, Xavier, Rieradevall, Joan, Boada, Martí, Benayas, Javier
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2011
Subjects:
Antarctic
The Antarctic
Antarc*
Antarctic Science
Antarctica
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102011000435
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102011000435
Description
Summary:Abstract The increase of tourism to the Antarctic continent may entail not only local but also global environmental impacts. These latter impacts, which are mainly caused by transport, have been generally ignored. As a result, there is a lack of data on the global impacts of Antarctic tourism in terms of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. This paper presents and applies a methodology for quantifying CO 2 emissions, both for the Antarctic vessel fleet as a whole and per passenger (both per trip and per day). The results indicate that the average tourist trip to Antarctica results in 5.44 t of CO 2 emissions per passenger, or 0.49 t per passenger and day. Approximately 70% of these emissions are attributable to cruising and 30% to flying, which highlights the global environmental relevance of local transport for this type of tourism.

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