CARBON METRICS: EVALUATING AND QUANTIFYING TOURISM-RELATED EMISSIONS ON CRETE, GREECE

Abstract

Climate change, a pressing global environmental issue, poses multifaceted challenges to society. The 2015 Paris Climate summit yielded international consensus on policies and strategies essential for combatting anthropogenic climate change. Concurrently, the tourism industry, experiencing remarkable growth with a surge in annual travelers, must address its carbon footprint to actively contribute to global climate change mitigation efforts. Crete, a prominent Mediterranean destination, attracts a growing number of visitors annually, predominantly via long-distance international flights. Quantifying carbon emissions attributed to tourism on the island is instrumental in devising strategies for their reduction and offsetting. Emerging research underscores the sector-specific disparities in carbon emissions within the tourism industry, necessitating distinct approaches for emissions reduction in each domain.