Few climate conference delegates travel by private jet these days, as Bill Gates did in 2015. Yet big environmental meetings usually have big carbon footprints. The United Nations’ COP26, which started in Glasgow on Sunday, will be no exception.
In the past three UN climate conferences, emissions from long-distance travel averaged 85 per cent of the total. Inevitably, travelling back and forth to the venue also creates emissions. Some of the 30,000 or more visitors will have to commute tens of kilometres every day, though cruise ships have been hired to ease the shortage of hotel rooms.
