The carbon footprint appraisal of local visitor travel in Brazil: A case of the Rio de Janeiro-São Paulo itinerary

Abstract

Tourism transportation contributes substantially to the global carbon footprint. This contribution is predicted to enlarge, especially in ‘emerging’ tourism markets, and hence urgent carbon mitigation is necessary. Effective mitigation is determined by reliable carbon footprint assessments whose number is however limited, particularly for developing countries with growing tourism. This study applied the life cycle assessment (LCA) based method to appraise the carbon significance of various transport modes between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, the key itinerary for travel with leisure and tourism purposes by local residents and overseas visitors in Brazil. Given the envisaged rise in biofuel use in the Brazilian transportation sector, this study is unique in that it evaluated the carbon reduction potential offered by biofuel. The study demonstrated that overland public transport represents the most carbon-efficient mode of local transportation. It further highlighted the crucial role of biofuel in minimising the carbon intensity of transportation between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Policy-making and managerial recommendations were put forward to facilitate more climate-benign local transportation practices.