Carbon passports: a solution to climate change?
18 Dec 2023
Sustainable travelImpacts of tourismCarbon footprint
The issue of climate change is growing increasingly severe, prompting discussions about a unique form of documentation known as carbon passports (碳護照).
In the wake of the pandemic, international travel is experiencing a resurgence in popularity. However, our current modes of travel are detrimental to the environment. The emissions produced by air travel and cruises contribute significantly to the release of greenhouse gases, resulting in the planet’s rising temperatures. Consequently, certain regions are now plagued by scorching summers and perilous heatwaves, all attributed to climate change caused by these emissions.
If we persist in our current travel habits, it will prove exceedingly challenging to mitigate the worsening effects of global warming. Scientists emphasise the urgent need to reduce our carbon footprint to less than two tonnes per person annually by 2050. Yet, countries like the US exhibit an average carbon footprint exceeding 16 tonnes, while even in the UK, it hovers around 12 tonnes.
Rationing of carbon
A potential solution to reduce travel emissions is the implementation of a ‘carbon passport’. This passport would allocate a specific amount of carbon to each individual for travel purposes annually. If the limit is exceeded, air travel and cruises would be prohibited for the remainder of the year. Certain regions in Europe have already taken measures such as imposing taxes on flights under 2.5 hours that could be substituted with train travel. France has even prohibited certain domestic flights.
Cruise ships are also a significant contributor to pollution, releasing more than four times the amount of air pollution as all the cars in Europe combined. To combat this, cities like Venice (威尼斯) and Amsterdam (阿姆斯特丹) have banned large cruise ships from entering their ports.
Sustainable travel choices
If we do not take action to change our travel habits, our options for travel may become limited in the future. Carbon passports can be a useful tool to help us reduce emissions and prepare for a safer future. Therefore, it is crucial for holidaymakers to start making sustainable travel choices now to minimise the impact of climate change.
Vocabulary
prompt (v) 引起
in the wake of (phr) 隨⋯之後而來
resurgence (n) 再次興起
detrimental (adj) 有害的
cruise (n) 遊船河
attribute to (v) 歸因於
中文翻譯版
碳護照：氣候變遷的解決方案？
2023 年 12 月 18 日
永續旅遊觀光業的影響碳足跡
氣候變遷問題日益嚴重，促使人們討論一種獨特的證件形式，即碳護照（碳護照）。
大流行之後，國際旅行正在重新流行。然而，我們目前的旅行方式對環境有害。航空旅行和遊輪產生的排放極大地促進了溫室氣體的釋放，導致地球氣溫上升。因此，某些地區現在正遭受炎熱的夏季和危險的熱浪的困擾，所有這些都是由這些排放引起的氣候變遷造成的。
如果我們堅持目前的旅行習慣，減輕全球暖化日益惡化的影響將極具挑戰性。科學家強調，迫切需要到 2050 年將人均碳足跡減少到每年 2 噸以下。然而，美國等國家的平均碳足跡超過 16 噸，而即使在英國，也徘徊在 12 噸左右。
碳配給
減少旅行排放的一個潛在解決方案是實施「碳護照」。該護照每年將為每個人分配特定數量的碳用於旅行目的。如果超過限制，今年剩餘時間將禁止航空旅行和遊輪。歐洲某些地區已經採取措施，例如對2.5小時以內的航班徵稅，可以用火車旅行代替。法國甚至禁止某些國內航班。
遊輪也是污染的重要來源，其排放的空氣污染量是歐洲所有汽車排放量總和的四倍以上。為了解決這個問題，威尼斯和阿姆斯特丹等城市已禁止大型遊輪進入其港口。
永續的旅行選擇
如果我們不採取行動改變我們的旅行習慣，我們未來的旅行選擇可能會變得有限。碳護照可以成為幫助我們減少排放並為更安全的未來做好準備的有用工具。因此，度假者現在就開始做出可持續的旅行選擇以盡量減少氣候變遷的影響至關重要。
自:https://student.thestandard.com.hk/text/juniorstandard/article/stories/861
中文翻譯來自編輯(Me!)
