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 UN’s COP26, which starts 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 miles every day, though cruise ships have been hired to ease the shortage of hotel rooms.
Accommodation is, after flights, likely to be the biggest cause of carbon emissions for COP26. It usually accounts for about half the domestic total, though a homestay programme should reduce the total.