CARBON COPY
LOOKING FOR WAYS TO CUT YOUR TRAVEL CARBON FOOTPRINT THIS YEAR?
SET YOUR SIGHTS ON COPENHAGEN. THE DANISH CAPITAL IS ON TRACK TO BECOME
THE WORLD’S FIRST CARBON-NEUTRAL CITY BY 2025 AND IS SETTING A GREEN
STANDARD FOR URBAN CENTRES WORLDWIDE. WORDS: MARK STRATTONI
’m boarding a train from
London for a 16-hour rail
journey to a city that is, to
paraphrase Greta Thunberg,
‘listening to the scientists’.
My Eurostar rolls out of St Pancras
International on schedule at
06.40. Ahead lies a tight change
in Brussels, a quick stop in
Cologne and an overnight train
ferry to Denmark, all covered
by my Interrail Pass. I could’ve
lown to Singapore in the time
this journey will take me, but with
Copenhagen on course to become
the world’s irst carbon-neutral
city by 2025, travelling there by
train seems appropriate.
The Danish capital irst made
a commitment to go carbon-
neutral in 2010 — ive years
before the Paris Agreement,
which saw global leaders agree
to combat climate change and
intensify eforts towards a
sustainable, low-carbon future.
Going carbon-neutral means the
city will produce no more carbon
emissions than it can ofset
elsewhere; essentially, there
will be no net release of carbon
dioxide. The move is signiicant as
most scientists agree there’s a link
between the rising CO2 levels and
Earth’s rising temperatures.
What’s clear is that the travel
industry generates a hety carbon
footprint, not least through
aviation. A 2018 study published
in Nature Climate Change found
travel accounted for 8% of
global greenhouse gas emissions
between 2009 and 2013, with the
number of international travellers
growing at a rate of 3-5% per year.
I myself possess a Sasquatch-
sized carbon footprint, but I
mitigate it somewhat by sticking
to public transport, avoiding the
energy-intensive production
associated with eating meat and
ofsetting my air travel carbon
emissions.
Yet individual action feels like
a drop in an overheating ocean,
so it’s up to countries and cities
to create a collective framework
of sustainability and carbon-free
options that help residents and
travellers negate their carbon
footprint. And Copenhagen is
leading the way.
Half a decade on from the
Paris Agreement, as countries
and politicians across the globe
renege on CO2-reduction targets
— or, in President Trump’s case,
withdraw from the agreement
entirely — Copenhagen is making
impressive strides towards
carbon-neutrality. In 2017, it
produced around 1.37 million
tonnes of harmful climate gases,
down 42% from 2005, explains
Jørgen Abildgaard, the city’s
executive climate program
director. He’s conident the
2025 goal will be met.
“We’ve 20% to go to reach
the target,” he says, adding that
tackling private road emissions
remains Copenhagen’s biggest
challenge. “Many cities, like
Washington, Amsterdam andHelsinki, are following our lead
— even if their targets aren’t as
ambitious. We can learn from
others — even London,” he adds,
perhaps generously. “We’re
looking at your congestion charge
to deter car journeys.”
Copenhagen’s own methods,
however, are exemplary. Having
pledged to cut down on the use of
fossil fuels, the city increasingly
generates renewable energy from
ofshore wind turbines and its
largest power plant has replaced
coal with wood pellets. Around
98% of the city is heated by waste
heat from electricity production,
49% of all journeys are made by
bike, and all diesel buses are being
replaced by electric substitutes.
“But carbon-neutral isn’t just
about environmental targets. It’s
about creating healthier cities for
people to live in,” explains Jørgen.
And so, with a little thought
and planning, I’ve identiied four
key sectors in which to lessen
the carbon impact of my journey:
travel, activities, accommodation
and food. Taking the train from
London produces far less in the
way of CO2 than lying. However,
for travellers short on time, these
emissions are straightforward
enough to ofset. Had I lown, the
0.2 tons of CO2 my journey would
have produced could have been
ofset at sites like myclimate.org at
a cost of just £5 — a donation that
would then go on to fund carbon-
ameliorating projects such as
reforestation in Nicaragua.168 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel