The problem with flying and ideas how to do it better

Air travel is the most energy-intensive form of mobility. In addition to the CO₂ emissions of an aircraft, nitrogen oxides and water vapor are also released in high layers of the atmosphere, which have higher greenhouse potentials than CO₂. The German Federal Environment Agency therefore estimates that the total climate impact of flying is three to five times higher than the pure CO₂ emissions of kerosene combustion. With every flight, you are actively harming the climate, even though there are more environmentally friendly alternatives. So it's time to leave excuses behind and to take a self-critical look at other ways of traveling.

Here are some suggestions for your own travel planning:

© M.Skramusky

• Travel by fast trains within Germany or to all neighboring European countries.
• Book bus and train journeys early at a lower price.
• Travel cheaply and with low emissions on long-distance coaches in Europe.
• Get to know Europe on long-distance bike paths or long-distance hiking trails.
• Use carpooling and local and long-distance public transport.

If you want to compensate emissions of your trip, you can support companies like Atmosfair, Klima-Kollekte or Primaklima. (https://www.atmosfair.de/de/ &   https://klima-kollekte.de/ & https://www.primaklima.org/)

Green finances

Green finances refer to financial products and investments that meet certain criteria and are intended to support sustainable businesses. There are various ecological and social features for this. Unfortunately, in reality many offers advertised as sustainable are only slightly better than conventional financial products. Here, you have to look very closely at the details of the products offered.

Sustainable banks in Germany include for example Umweltbank, Triodos Bank, GLS Bank and Ethikbank.

There are also shares, bonds, investment funds or direct investments with sustainable claims. The European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif) has developed standards for this. It should be noted, however, that many "sustainable" investment funds may also contain fossil industries or companies with unethical business practices due to their selection criteria. Theme funds or direct investments are stricter in this respect, but the investement risks might be higher. An environmentally and socially responsible investment therefore requires intensive study of the subject matter.