After a series of record hot summers in the Mediterranean with extreme temperatures and wildfires on the one hand and severe flooding on the other, the travel industry is already braced for a gradual change in travel habits with people avoiding traditional Mediterranean destinations during the peak hot summer months and heading for more cooler climes, if not staying at home.
On the one hand, for destinations like Mallorca, it could be good news because it will help to prolong the season with more tourists, as the island is already witnessing this year, coming in low season.
But there are mounting concerns that “carbon passports” could be introduced.
According to a holiday company, the climate crisis behind these events could soon be addressed by restricting international travel with carbon passports.
Intrepid Travel’s recent report claims that drastic measures could be introduced to prevent the “extinction” of popular holiday destinations.
The idea of a carbon passport centres on each traveller being assigned a yearly carbon allowance that they cannot exceed. These allowances can then “ration” travel.
This concept may seem extreme. But the idea of personal carbon allowances is not new.
A similar concept (called “personal carbon trading”) was discussed by UK Parliament in 2008, before being shut down because of to its perceived complexity and the possibility of public resistance.
France is already moving to ban domestic flights which could be served by a train and Spain is considering following suit on the mainland while expanding its rail network across Europe.
And, it’s not just air travel that’s being criticised.
An investigation by the European Federation for Transport and Environment in 2023 found that cruise ships pump four times as many sulphuric gases (which are proven to cause acid rain and several respiratory conditions) into the atmosphere than all of Europe’s 291 million cars combined.
Looks like travel is not only going to become more complicated with ETIAS vias for Britons wishing to enter the EU, for example, it may also be more restrictive.