Are cruise ships doing their bit for the environment?

As the travel industry comes under increased scrutiny with regards to how 'green' it is, so too are cruise lines.

In a leading story in the Telegraph Travel section on Saturday, cruise liners were labeled as the poorest performing sector of the travel industry when it comes to being green.

Devoid of carbon-offsetting schemes and regularly engaging in dumping waste in the sea, not to mention the emissions they release when sailing the globe, cruise liners care little for the environment, it seems.

Charles Starmer-Smith recently wrote: "To date, only seven per cent of us have paid anything towards minimising the impact of our travels by donating, for instance, to a carbon-offsetting scheme."

With this in mind, the cruise liners' failure to launch greener policies perhaps becomes more forgiving. After all, who exactly is impressed by such initiatives? It seems the travelling public like the concept of helping to preserve the environment yet don't want to pay for it.

Chairman Derek Moore the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) forecast it would be a further five years before holiday-buying decisions would be based on environmental policy rather than cost.

Cruise lines already abide by strict rules and regulations with regards to sulphur oxide and nitrogen oxide emissions and dumping waste at sea. In addition, greener policies are becoming more prevalent among lines and some realistic goals have been set in place.

While these efforts are unlikely to save the planet, it is a start.


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Jennifer Jones Editorial


18/01/2008



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