Niedziela 11 Luty 2007 10:55:12 pm

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.