In December 1997 a group of 36 dedicated environmentalists from 14 countries decided to shun the use of aircraft and make their way to the COP3 Climate Change Convention in Kyoto using train, boat and bike. Their detailed calculations showed that by doing so they saved around 110 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
COP6 in the Hague this week has enticed, according to news reports, some 5,500 delegates and observers to Holland. If it is generously assumed that one-third of these made the journey by train or coach, a further third flew short-haul, and the remainder long-haul, then the carbon dioxide emissions attributable to transport can be estimated as around 5,000 tonnes.
Carbon dioxide is not the only greenhouse gas. High altitude air travel, in particular, leads to other damaging emissions. These are often accounted in terms of the equivalent amount of CO2 that would be needed to generate the same global warming potential. Adding in this additional impact raises the carbon dioxide 'cost' of travelling to the Convention to around 15,000 tonnes. To put this figure in perspective, this is equivalent to the emissions arising from the production of 22 million copies of The Guardian.
Apart from travel, the accommodation choices of conference-goers can also affect their carbon budget. Luxury hotels, with their daily clean laundry, gourmet cuisine, over-heated suites and seemingly endless supplies of small packaged toiletries, can consume vast amounts of energy. A typical night at a top hotel will check in at around 90kWh of electricity and 300kWh of gas. This is somewhere around eight times more than one would typically consume at home. Assuming, rather conservatively, that only one-third of delegates opt for luxury accommodation, one-third for more modest lodgings and the remainder for a friend's sofa (or in the case of the Mozambique delegates a shared room at the youth hostel), then the resulting CO2 emissions are close to 2,000 tonnes.
Taking all greenhouse gases into account the average Convention attendee has an expenditure of over 3 tonnes for the fortnight. This is 50% above what the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommends as sustainable annual CO2 emissions.
COP6 is only part of the picture - past Climate Conferences have also added to the environmental costs of negotiation. But isn't it necessary to break a few eggs to make some omelettes, you might ask? What other alternative is there for international delegates?
Well, the scale of impacts can at least be put into perspective by looking at other ways in which the Conference funds might have been invested to reduce emissions.
A rough calculation puts the cost of the just the accommodation and travel elements of the Hague Convention at £10m. For this cost it would be possible to install 8 giant wind generators, such as that at Swaffham in Norfolk, providinq sufficient electricity for 24,000 households displacing 35,000 tonnes of CO2 or 5 Hagues each, and every, year.
Of course, it would be wisest to invest in 'negawatts' - energy saving measures. According to the DETR, to save a tonne of domestic CO2 emissions costs around £100 to £150. Our £10m pounds would therefore have the potential to save up to 100,000 tonnes of CO2 or 14 Hagues each year.
What such back-of-the-envelope calculations start to reveal is the true cost, in environmental terms, of massive international gatherings such as COP6. It must be said, however, that such emissions will pale into insignificance if countries really do meet the targets set out in the Kyoto Protocol.
Craig Simmons is co-founder and Director of sustainability consultancy Best Foot Forward. His new book, Sharing Nature's Interest (with Nicky Chambers and Mathis Wackernagel) is published 29th November by Earthscan.
Best Foot Forward - For further information about carbon emissions calculations
