The Tatras cannot be protected only within their borders. Rapid climate change is affecting the entire atmosphere and changes to our highest mountains are unavoidable as a result. Year by year, the Tatras will become less and less friendly to protected animals and plants. The same is true for all other valuable natural areas. And no matter where we spend our holidays - their carbon footprint will affect the entire climate.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), raising the earth's average temperature above 2 degrees Celsius will lead to catastrophic consequences for our civilisation. In such a scenario, we face submerged coastal areas and small islands, shifting climate zones, droughts, floods, famines and resource wars, and mass migrations (Climate Change 2014. Synthesis Report. Summary for Policymakers).
Our carbon footprint
We have done everything we can to lower the carbon footprint of your holiday. The building uses geothermal energy, all appliances are highly energy efficient and the lighting is based on LEDs. The breakfast we serve consists of local and seasonal products. We offer a wide range of vegan products, which have a much lower carbon footprint than animal products.
What we eat absolutely affects the climate. At least a quarter of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions come from food production. Land management, deforestation and, above all, animal husbandry are responsible for these emissions. We will write more extensively about the carbon footprint of our diet in the next post.
Today, let's focus on how to reduce the carbon footprint of our holidays as much as possible. And why the choice of holiday destination is key here. To start with, here are some figures. The average Pole emits on average around 8 tonnes of CO2 per year.
The carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere to produce a given product or service. The carbon footprint is given in CO2 equivalents. All greenhouse gases emitted, e.g. methane (1 kg of methane is equivalent to approximately 25 kg of CO2) or fluorocarbon (1 kg of fluorocarbon is equivalent to approximately 15 000 kg of CO2), are converted into this equivalent. When calculating the carbon footprint of a product, emissions at all stages of its life are taken into account - from raw material extraction to production to disposal.
Holiday carbon footprint
So let's compare a holiday in Greece with a holiday in Zakopane. If you choose the former, your carbon footprint will certainly be much higher than a holiday in the Polish mountains. Transport plays a major role here.
If we fly to Greece, the carbon footprint of a flight for a family of 4 people is 2.6 tonnes on the Warsaw-Zakintos-Warsaw route. That is 20 times more than a car trip to the Tatras (130 kg of CO2 for about 900 km round trip for the same 4-person family).
In a word, a trip to Zakopane will be better for the environment than a holiday in Greece. But even a trip to Zakopane can still be "greened". It is enough to exchange the car for a train. An Intercity class train emits the equivalent of approx. 11 kg/person on the route between Warsaw and Zakopane. Such a solution is economical and will avoid the traffic jams in Zakopane.
30 000 cars
You need to know that in Zakopane, a city of only 27 000 inhabitants, there can be up to 30 000 cars in the high season. Traffic on Zakopianka, between Nowy Targ and Szaflary, increased between 2015 and 2020 by as much as 45%. And this causes traffic jams, frustration and a habitual waste of time. Meanwhile, public transport, i.e. city buses or vans, departing in the direction of the valleys or Morskie Oko, is very efficiently organised and eliminates another problem, i.e. the search for a free parking space.
So - it is much better for the climate if you spend your holidays in the country, giving up long-distance travel by plane. If you trust us and entrust us with reducing your hotel's carbon footprint - we will do everything to make it as low as possible.