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Carbon Footprint of Inbound Tourism to Iceland: A Consumption-Based Life-Cycle Assessment including Direct and Indirect Emissions

Author

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  • Hannah Sharp

    (Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Iceland, Hjardarhagi 2-6, 107 Reykjavík, Iceland)

  • Josefine Grundius

    (Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Iceland, Hjardarhagi 2-6, 107 Reykjavík, Iceland)

  • Jukka Heinonen

    (Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Iceland, Hjardarhagi 2-6, 107 Reykjavík, Iceland)

Abstract

The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by tourism have been studied from several perspectives, but few studies exist that include all direct and indirect emissions, particularly those from aviation. In this study, an input/output-based hybrid life-cycle assessment (LCA) method is developed to assess the consumption-based carbon footprint of the average tourist including direct and indirect emissions. The total inbound tourism-related GHG emissions are also calculated within a certain region. As a demonstration of the method, the full carbon footprint of an average tourist is assessed as well as the total GHG emissions induced by tourism to Iceland over the period of 2010–2015, with the presented approach applicable in other contexts as well. Iceland provides an interesting case due to three features: (1) the tourism sector in Iceland is the fastest-growing industry in the country with an annual growth rate of over 20% over the past five years; (2) almost all tourists arrive by air; and (3) the country has an almost emissions-free energy industry and an import-dominated economy, which emphasise the role of the indirect emissions. According to the assessment, the carbon footprint for the average tourist is 1.35 tons of CO 2 -eq, but ranges from 1.1 to 3.2 tons of CO 2 -eq depending on the distance travelled by air. Furthermore, this footprint is increasing due to the rise in average flight distances travelled to reach the country. The total GHG emissions caused by tourism in Iceland have tripled from approximately 600,000 tons of CO 2 -eq in 2010 to 1,800,000 tons in 2015. Aviation accounts for 50%–82% of this impact (depending on the flight distance) underlining the importance of air travel, especially as tourism-related aviation is forecasted to grow significantly in the near future. From a method perspective, the carbon footprinting application presented in the study would seem to provide an efficient way to study both the direct and indirect emissions and to provide new insights and information to enable the development of appropriate GHG mitigation policies in the tourism sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Hannah Sharp & Josefine Grundius & Jukka Heinonen, 2016. "Carbon Footprint of Inbound Tourism to Iceland: A Consumption-Based Life-Cycle Assessment including Direct and Indirect Emissions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-23, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:11:p:1147-:d:82402
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    5. Larbi Safaa & Ahmet Atalay & Daiva Makutėnienė & Dalia Perkumienė & Imane El Bouazzaoui, 2023. "Assessment of Carbon Footprint Negative Effects for Nature in International Traveling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-14, August.
    6. Jakovljević, Ivan & Mijailović, Radomir & Mirosavljević, Petar, 2018. "Carbon dioxide emission during the life cycle of turbofan aircraft," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 866-875.
    7. Sun, Ya-Yen & Gossling, Stefan & Zhou, Wanru, 2022. "Does tourism increase or decrease carbon emissions? A systematic review," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    8. Dandan Liu & Dewei Yang & Anmin Huang, 2021. "LEAP-Based Greenhouse Gases Emissions Peak and Low Carbon Pathways in China’s Tourist Industry," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-15, January.
    9. Gustav Engström & Johan Gars & Niko Jaakkola & Therese Lindahl & Daniel Spiro & Arthur A. van Benthem, 2020. "What Policies Address Both the Coronavirus Crisis and the Climate Crisis?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 789-810, August.
    10. David Cook & Nína Saviolidis & Brynhildur Davíðsdóttir & Lára Jóhannsdóttir & Snjólfur Ólafsson, 2019. "Synergies and Trade-Offs in the Sustainable Development Goals—The Implications of the Icelandic Tourism Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-23, August.
    11. Sudeshna Ghosh, 2022. "Effects of tourism on carbon dioxide emissions, a panel causality analysis with new data sets," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 3884-3906, March.
    12. Jiali Zheng & Han Qiao & Shouyang Wang, 2017. "The Effect of Carbon Tax in Aviation Industry on the Multilateral Simulation Game," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-24, July.
    13. Sofi, Arfat Ahmad & Bhat, Mohammad Younus & Ahmad, Laraib & Aara, Ruhi Refath & Aswani, RS, 2022. "Renewable energy and transitioning towards sustainable tourism: Inferences from kernel density and nonparametric approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 963-975.
    14. Sun, Ya-Yen & Cadarso, Maria Angeles & Driml, Sally, 2020. "Tourism carbon footprint inventories: A review of the environmentally extended input-output approach," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    15. Michał Czepkiewicz & Áróra Árnadóttir & Jukka Heinonen, 2019. "Flights Dominate Travel Emissions of Young Urbanites," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-35, November.
    16. Manuel Rama & Emilio Carral & Sara González-García & Elías Torres-Feijó & Maria Luisa del Rio & María Teresa Moreira & Gumersindo Feijoo, 2022. "Balance between Hosts and Guests: The Key to Sustainable Tourism in a Heritage City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-18, October.
    17. Md. Hasanur Rahman & Liton Chandra Voumik & Md. Jamsedul Islam & Md. Abdul Halim & Miguel Angel Esquivias, 2022. "Economic Growth, Energy Mix, and Tourism-Induced EKC Hypothesis: Evidence from Top Ten Tourist Destinations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-16, December.
    18. Geneidy Sami El & Baumeister Stefan, 2019. "The Carbon Footprint of Volunteer Tourism," European Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Recreation, Sciendo, vol. 9(2), pages 15-25, December.
    19. Shuxin Wang & Yiyuan Hu & Hong He & Genxu Wang, 2017. "Progress and Prospects for Tourism Footprint Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-17, October.
    20. Fei Ma & Wenlin Wang & Qipeng Sun & Fei Liu & Xiaodan Li, 2018. "Ecological Pressure of Carbon Footprint in Passenger Transport: Spatio-Temporal Changes and Regional Disparities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-17, January.
    21. Byung-Chul An & Eun-Yeong Park, 2020. "Characteristics and Satisfaction Analysis of Eco-Tour Ships at Ecotourism Sites: Focusing on the Cases of the Nakdong River Estuary, Suncheon Bay Wetland, and Goesan Lake and Sanmagi-Yetgil in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-16, November.
    22. Jianping Zha & Rong Fan & Yao Yao & Lamei He & Yuanyuan Meng, 2021. "Framework for accounting for tourism carbon emissions in China: An industrial linkage perspective," Tourism Economics, , vol. 27(7), pages 1430-1460, November.

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