Mallorca climate plea: Fewer flights, longer stays

Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands, faces a call for fewer flights and longer stays as transport accounts for about three-quarters of the islands’ greenhouse gas emissions. Physicist Damià Gomis makes the case in Palma on Friday 23 October, at the launch of a climate manifesto. He and Climate Academy director Jaume Garau warn that the effects of climate change are already being felt.

Why flights are in focus

The transport figure covers journeys by land, air and sea. Gomis says more public transport and electric vehicles could cut emissions on land, while alternatives to fossil fuels at sea are making tentative progress. Aircraft are much harder to move away from fossil fuels, he says. Fewer flights and longer stays would mean fewer journeys.

The manifesto does not call for an end to tourism. It says the Balearic Islands depend too heavily on it, putting pressure on land, natural resources, energy and infrastructure. It calls for a more varied economy and broad agreement among public bodies, businesses and civil society.

Heat adds to the warning

Gomis and Garau say extreme heat, tropical nights and a lack of rain have put health, water, farming, biodiversity and the economy at risk this summer. They say temperatures in the Balearic Islands have risen 2.34°C over the past 50 years.

The two experts caution that natural climate variation also helps explain exceptional temperatures. That does not, they say, rule out the influence of global warming.

Topics: Environment · Tourism

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com