Öko-Institut e.V.: Better stay on the ground?

Editorial

[Translate to Englisch:] Jan Peter Schemmel, Sprecher der Geschäftsführung des Öko-Instituts

Linking people, but sustainably

Editorial by Jan Peter Schemmel, CEO, Oeko-Institut

For now, the times in which the aviation industry experienced nothing but growth are over. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, countless planes remain grounded. Moreover, many people are asking whether they really need to fly. It has quickly become apparent that many business trips are unnecessary. Video conferencing works. And holidaying in your own country can be a delight.

However, I know from my work in development cooperation how important direct contact with people in other…

Linking people, but sustainably

In Focus

Nothing harms the climate more

How can aviation become more sustainable?

When a plane takes off in Frankfurt for New York, a journey that is particularly climate-damaging begins: in the course of the return flight, each passenger causes global warming equivalent to the impact of almost four tonnes of CO2. It would take a car journey of 21,900 kilometres to generate the same emissions. In other words, no form of transport is as damaging as the aeroplane. Despite this, air travel has increased steadily over the years and no effective policies are being…

Nothing harms the climate more

Avoid, switch, improve

Alternatives to flying – and carbon offsetting

A 22-hour train journey instead of a three-hour flight? Most people would regard taking the train from Berlin to Barcelona instead of flying as an option not worth even considering. Yet just this one journey within Europe offers more alternatives than are perhaps apparent at first glance – including the question of whether travelling to the much closer town of Bamberg might not be equally nice. In view of the hugely damaging impact of flying on the climate we must rethink our…

Avoid, switch, improve

[Translate to Englisch:] Prof. Dr. Stefan Gössling (Linnaeus Universität)

“Jetting around the world is no longer trendy and cool”

Interview with Prof. Dr. Stefan Gössling (Linnaeus Universität)

The tickets are cheap and the next attractive destination is not far away: for many people, a flight to a European city was for a long time no more unusual than a trip to the neighbouring town. How can they be persuaded to fly less? What personal responsibility do they have and what must policy-makers do to curb the growth of flying? We talked to Prof. Stefan Gössling about these things. In his research at Linnaeus University in Sweden he focuses on tourism, which means that he…

“Jetting around the world is no longer trendy and cool”