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Carbon Emissions and Intercultural Exchange

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Adam Jeanes

Beigetreten:
05 Jul 2006

Sonntag, 11. Februar 2007 22:55:12

Carbon Emissions and Intercultural Exchange

I recently ran a training session in the South West of England for UK cultural operators new to international working. I was struck that one of the hotest topics of debate among this group (some of whom were complete novices to international work) was the environmental impact of air travel in pursuit of European networking, showcasing, research etc. I have mentioned this to a number of people who travel regularly in cultural exchange and cooperation and have found a measure of what can only be called embarrassment. There does not seem to be any public debate on this subject among our organisations and interest groups that I am aware of. I engage in air travel on a regular basis, most of which is unavoidable: many of us recognise that face-to-face meetings with foreign colleagues are essential especially to see art forms and artists in their cultural context and in connection to the mobility of artists. I am now thinking what I can do to reduce my professional carbon footprint. But I wonder if we, as a sector, should be developing some kind of approach or leadership in this area? Perhaps a European cultural sector carbon off-set arrangement with one of the European agencies? And not as a symbolic gesture but as an effective mechanism. I would be very interested to know what others feel about this - and whether there are schemes in operation at a national or transnational level in our or in other sectors.

Christopher Gordon

Beigetreten:
20 Feb 2006

Dienstag, 06. März 2007 11:42:55

Carbon footprint

Point well made - and increasingly important, I think. Certainly one of the current UK dinner party topics of conversations in polite British society (and it's less boring than house prices or the self-righteousness of Blair).

So what actually is essential? I have just returned to the UK from a Council of Europe meeting in Athens. I flew because of the time factor. But had it been in, say, Rome could I have justified it in the same way? It would have been perfectly possible to complete the journey by train - which is a more pleasant mode of travel, you can read, and you don't waste hours getting to and waiting at character-less airports. Yes, it probably does take longer, but slowing down a bit and taking a hard look at scheduling is probably no bad thing.

nicola mullenger

Beigetreten:
25 Apr 2006

Dienstag, 20. März 2007 15:52:19

Re:Carbon Emissions and Intercultural Exchange

I have read this posting with interest, my personal and professional carbon footprint in 2006 was 15,000 kg of CO2 - which totals at about 10 European flights and one long haul - and this translates to 13 trees for the off set. You can go here to check your's (uk site) http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.html
I don't know of any cultural organisation/national sectorial agency that has a off set as a policy and of course it would depend on its size and the ability to pay the extra costs. Maybe a European approach needs to be established for this to work, as if you go down the off set route you may want to choose where you have your trees planted. For example the UK site does not offer trees to be planted in Spain. But also I am not sure if the agencies (who now offer these services) are regulated - I heard not - looks like a challenging and future thinking business opportunity .... anyone? Surely the idea would attract seed funding.

Lidia Varbanova

Beigetreten:
15 Nov 2005

Freitag, 23. März 2007 15:01:27

Re:Carbon Emissions and Intercultural Exchange

Certainly a provocative discussion on a website trying to promote and encourage cultural cooperation, artistic exchange and mobility across Europe! Artistic mobility is inevitably linked with traveling, changing locations, and in many cases-long distance. Artists need to explore new realities so that they “recharge” and find new inspirations. Art managers need to gain new markets. Audiences become more global and travel not only for business or tourism, but also to accumulate cross-border cultural and artistic experiences.
Few facts from the Time magazine (Feb. 12, 2007):
- The air travel is responsible for only 1.6% of total greenhouse gas mission. So far a small number but will rise.
- 2400 kg of carbon per passenger emitted in a round-trip flight between NY City and Tokyo
- The annual airline passengers worldwide predicted to double to 9 billion by 2025.
Obviously, there is a long long way to go until the instantaneously movement of objects or elementary particles from one place to another without traveling through space ( the "teleportation", becomes a reality. It is now still a science fiction and fantasy. Taking a train from Amsterdam to Brussels, Berlin or Paris is certainly reasonable, but how can we overcome distances between Tokyo and New York, Sydney and Vancouver?!
Mobility is a basic human right and desire. It demands us to engage with differences, creates openness and curiosity, helps us to understand the multiple context of our world today, to discover where we belong and who we are. How this issue looks from the position of people and artists living in countries and regions which are still very isolated from the global world and they desperately strive for visibility, mobility, exchange processes, access, international funding. For them in many cases this is a question of surviving, not only traveling.
How then, in this complex world, to “ground” ourselves and learn to live more locally? Is this possible in our globalised and mobile world? I doubt....
“The growth in aviation and the need to address climate change can not be reconciled” – Intergovernental Panel on Climate Change…

Christopher Gordon

Beigetreten:
20 Feb 2006

Samstag, 24. März 2007 10:40:50

Re:Carbon Emissions and Intercultural Exchange

Probably true and valid comment - but, beware 'facts' in American publications on this issue. The 1.6% air travel figure is much disputed, and as Lidia comments, it is clearly rising sharply. What the operators don't want to own up to is that the damage to the atmosphere at the altitude planes fly at is actually equivalent to x 2.5 what it would be on the ground. So for a minimum 1.6% read minimum 4% and rising.

Tomas Bokstad

Beigetreten:
27 Mär 2007

Freitag, 30. März 2007 15:59:16

Re:Carbon Emissions and Intercultural Exchange

and to confuse things a bit, I was told by a friend that there is one date there the radiation rose to new all time high - the day following 9/11...The contrails from airline flights shields the earth and the day the flights stood still...hmm... things warmed up.

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