At the beginning of April, I was in Brussels for this year’s Connecting Europe Days seminar. More than 3,200 participants from more than 80 countries gathered at the conference. Ministers, politicians, financial institutions, industry representatives, transport stakeholders and the European Commission and related agencies participated. Concrete actions were discussed and good practices were shared to create a sustainable, smart and secure transport and movement network.
It was natural to return home from Brussels by land and sea. I traveled in one day by train from Brussels to Cologne, from Cologne to Lübeck and by bus from Lübeck to the port of Travemünde, from where I left late in the evening by ship to Finland. The ship journey to Vuosaari harbor took 33 hours.
The first day of travel was long, each leg had a different transport company, but I had time to rest for two nights and a whole day on the ship. There was a good internet connection on the trains and on the ship and I was able to work every day.
Planning the trip was tedious. All pre-purchased tickets and reservations had to be obtained from different websites. I had to ask more experienced travelers for help. The journey itself was difficult, all the trains were late and the last track section was under repair. I spent a lot of time looking for different routes and dealing with changes.
The European Union and European countries spend a lot of money on transport infrastructure, but in order to move to a transport with lower emissions, user-friendliness should be invested significantly more than at present. Where can I get information about different transportation options, booking trips, and above all, how trips are delayed and what to do?
In Europe, especially in Northern Europe, it is increasingly common for environmentally conscious travelers to try to reduce their emissions from travelling. There is even talk of the term “Flight shame” or flygskam in Swedish. It means that people are ashamed of their air travel. More and more people try to travel by road.
There is no commonly agreed emissions calculation system
For the past 25 years, I have been involved in making shipping more environmentally friendly in different roles: as a researcher, in a company and as an official. As part of this work, we have calculated traffic emissions.
Currently, there is no commonly agreed system for calculating the emissions of different modes of transport. In the calculations, the emissions can be very different, as it can be taken into account, for example, whether the amounts include the construction of a means of transport or infrastructure, or how the emissions are distributed according to the number of passengers – whether the peak hour emissions are less polluting than during a quiet shift; how emissions are distributed among different means of transport; what happens when an old train is suddenly replaced by a new one, etc.
Researchers around the world are developing different principles for the emissions of different modes of transport, but the work is not yet complete.
I myself constantly try to reduce the emissions of my trips. Since I live in two cities, the greenhouse gas emissions from my travels are significant anyway. Regardless of the calculation system, I usually try to follow the following principles:
– I travel as little as possible. If the meeting can be replaced with TEAMS, it is usually worth doing. I am usually on vacation in my home country or neighboring countries. And when I fly abroad on vacation, I usually spend longer there.
– I travel as slowly as possible. Walking or cycling always causes fewer emissions than faster modes of transport. A fast ship consumes more than a slow one. Airplanes usually consume more than other modes of transportation.
– I prefer public transport, which means more people have the same means of transport.
– If there is a choice, I use the most environmentally friendly modes of transport, e.g. an electric car instead of a car that uses fossil fuels.
One interesting fact from the trip just described: the flight to Brussels cost only twenty percent of the price of the whole trip. If the European Union wants to direct people from air travel to more sustainable modes of transport, its desire should also be reflected in ticket prices. In practice, emissions must be taken into account when taxing travelling. Legislation has also been developed on the subject.
Until then, we need pioneers. Fortunately, environmentally conscious travelers are not left alone. For example, there are several communities on Facebook where you can ask for advice on routes, prices and changes.
And above all, traveling by land is very fun and educational!
This opinion piece was previously published on the Taltechin Trialoog opinion forum on 4/30/2024.
Tales of Talsinki 