Greenhouse gas emissions linked to tourism represented 8.8% of global emissions in 2019. They increased by 3.5% per year between 2009 and 2019, twice as much as the emissions of the global economy (+ 1.5%), according to a study published Tuesday in Nature Communications.
This consumption is associated with a tourism carbon footprint of 5.2 gigatons (Gt) of CO2 equivalent in 2019. This is distributed between direct emissions which amounted to 1.8 Gt (52% coming from aviation , 18% from road transport), indirect emissions which represented 2.5 Gt (34% from services, 14% from oil production) and emissions from private vehicles (0.9 Gt).
The most impactful tourists from the United States
Tourists from the United States alone accounted for 19% of the total global tourism footprint in 2019, with Chinese 15% and Indians 6%. China's domestic tourism spending has grown 17% annually over the past decade, contributing to a 0.4 Gt CO2 equivalent increase in global emissions, followed by domestic tourism in the United States (0. 2 Gt) and in India (0.1 Gt). Chinese travel abroad also caused a notable increase in emissions (0.1 Gt).
The report's international team of authors forecasts “annual emissions increases of 3 to 4 percent if current trends continue.” However, to achieve the objective of limiting global warming to +1.5°C as provided for in the Paris Agreement, the 5.2 Gt of greenhouse gas emissions from the sector would have to be reduced by more than 10% per year until 2050.
