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The glaciers are melting, coral reefs are dying – it's high time to hop on a plane and visit these unique places before they disappear for good. This behavior is known as Last Chance Tourism. Today, we’ll take a closer look at why the desire to experience such places one more time is understandable, but often accelerates their destruction.

First of All: What’s the Current Situation with the Climate Crisis?

The climate crisis is advancing at an ever-faster pace, and the global efforts so far are nowhere near enough to limit global warming to an acceptable level. Many countries are falling short of the goals set in the Paris Agreement. Even in the Climate Change Performance Index, which evaluates the climate protection efforts of different countries, it’s clear that despite some progress, global efforts are still grossly insufficient to prevent critical thresholds in the climate system.

Some changes are already irreversible – such as the rise in sea levels, the melting of ice sheets, the death of coral reefs, the thawing of permafrost, and the loss of biodiversity. These irreversible damages are leading to an increase in extreme weather events like heatwaves, droughts, floods, and storms.

These changes are accelerated by the man-made greenhouse effect, among other things. The Earth receives energy from the Sun, which is then radiated back as heat. Normally, this heat would escape into space, but greenhouse gases like CO₂, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere trap some of it, leading to warming. Without this effect, our planet would be frozen, and life as we know it wouldn't be possible. However, human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels and agriculture, have significantly increased the concentration of these gases, which is driving further warming – and that is exactly what fuels climate change.

As CO₂ levels continue to rise due to human influence, climate change is picking up speed.

Although some consequences can no longer be reversed, we can still limit the extent of the damage and prevent further irreversible changes from occurring. Every reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and every measure taken to protect our environment helps avert the worst consequences and allows us to adapt to the changes that are already inevitable. And the last thing that’s helpful in this situation is traveling to places that are already deteriorating.

Last Chance or Last Mistake? The Issue of Last Chance Tourism

Last Chance Tourism describes the trend of visiting destinations that are threatened by climate change or environmental destruction. People want to experience these places before they are irreversibly altered or disappear. Often, it’s individuals who take climate change seriously and are aware of its impacts who engage in such travel. Because, of course – those who deny climate change see no reason to visit these places. The problem, however, is that tourism in these regions usually causes additional strain on the already fragile ecosystems.

A typical example of Last Chance Tourism is traveling to Australia to visit the Great Barrier Reef, to dive and see the few remaining coral reefs. The issue here is that divers, through touching, stepping on, or even bumping into the reef with their oxygen tanks, damage the corals. Boats that pass over the reef can also cause significant harm.

And for those who think it’s not that bad if the coral reefs disappear, that’s a misconception. Coral reefs play a key role in marine ecosystems, as they provide habitat, food, and protection for countless marine organisms. Their loss would jeopardize the balance of entire ecosystems. Additionally, coral reefs protect coastal areas from erosion and storm surges by acting as natural barriers. Therefore, their disappearance would have far-reaching ecological and economic consequences for marine life and humans alike.

Personally, I also often hear people say that they absolutely want to see the remaining glaciers, like those in the Swiss Alps or Patagonia, because these glaciers are retreating at an unprecedented rate.

Glaciers are an important source of freshwater, which is used in many parts of the world for drinking water or agriculture. If they continue to melt, this could lead to a serious water shortage, especially in mountainous regions. 

And while we're on the topic of colder regions, let's take a look at the polar areas. They are among the regions most affected by climate change. Fortunately, the Arctic and Antarctica are much less frequented as travel destinations compared to tourist hotspots like the Alps or Australia.

The issue there is that the ice caps are melting at an alarming rate, shrinking the habitat for native wildlife. But that’s not all: When ice melts, the surface becomes darker and absorbs more solar radiation instead of reflecting it. This process (the albedo effect) leads to more heat staying in the Earth’s system, further accelerating global warming. So, the melting of the polar regions not only directly contributes to habitat destruction but also amplifies the global climate effects, ensuring the cycle of warming continues. By the way, this is also an effect that occurs with the melting of glaciers.

And what happens additionally when everything melts? Sea levels rise, which primarily threatens countries like the Maldives, Kiribati, and the Netherlands. These areas are only a few meters above sea level and are especially vulnerable to flooding. If the melting of glaciers and ice caps continues at its current pace, the rising sea levels could swallow entire coastal regions, displace people, and lead to massive losses in infrastructure. Developing countries, whose economies rely heavily on coastal tourism or agriculture, would be particularly affected by the consequences of rising sea levels.

So, some people think, "Let me quickly go on vacation to the Maldives or somewhere else before it's too late." But no matter if you're flying to Switzerland, the Maldives, Australia, or elsewhere – with your trip, you're contributing to the destruction of many already threatened ecosystems and habitats. And as if that weren’t enough, long distances often need to be traveled to reach these destinations, which causes additional CO₂ emissions and further fuels climate change. So, the attempt to visit these places becomes yet another contribution to a much larger environmental destruction.

Is Climate Change Really Caused by Humans?

There are also some who believe that humans have no significant impact on the climate and that the current warming is a natural process that we cannot influence. These people don’t deny the warming but think that, with Last Chance Tourism, they aren’t causing further damage since humans aren’t responsible for it. However, when it comes to the question of whether climate change is truly caused by humans, there is only one answer: Yes

Climate scientists agree that human responsibility for climate change is clear. Studies show that the enormous increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution has been a major driver of climate change. Since 1900, the global average temperature has risen by about 1°C. A significant portion of this increase is due to human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels, which have raised the CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere by more than 40% since the Industrial Revolution. Over half of this rise has occurred since 1970. 

Even though a rise of two to three degrees Celsius might not sound dramatic, it has far-reaching consequences. We're already experiencing extreme weather events more frequently, and the two-degree increase we're currently heading towards could drastically change life in many parts of the world. What may seem like a small number at first glance is actually a huge shift with serious consequences for the entire planet.

Without human influence, global temperatures would have remained more stable over time. Models show that natural climate variability, such as solar activity or volcanic eruptions, would have led to only a slight warming. So, the current warming is primarily human-made, as numerous studies confirm.

We’ve maneuvered ourselves into this situation, and now it’s up to us to mitigate the consequences of this increase before the effects get any worse.

What Can We Do?

Well, aside from avoiding Last Chance Tourism, there are of course many other measures we can take to fight climate change and mitigate its impacts. Sure, big corporations and private flights are the main contributors to CO₂ emissions, far exceeding the emissions of individuals. When just 57 corporations are responsible for 80% of the CO₂ emissions released between 2016 and 2022, a US oil company has emitted 3.6 gigatons of CO₂ since the Paris Climate Agreement, and some private jet users produce nearly 500 times more CO₂ (2,400 tons of CO₂ annually) than the average citizen (with 5-10 tons of CO₂ annually), you might wonder what difference a few tons of CO₂ from my own consumption make – and that’s understandable. This is why urgent action needs to be taken, especially at the political and economic levels.

But remember: Even if every average citizen saved about 2 to 3 tons of CO₂, that would still add up to an enormous amount of CO₂ when calculated for the entire global population. And it’s a chain reaction, because if we all save as much as possible and live more environmentally conscious lives, companies and large corporations HAVE TO adapt to us by developing more sustainable production processes, reducing their CO₂ emissions, and embracing greener technologies in order to stay competitive and meet the growing demand for eco-friendly products.

What each individual can do to reduce CO₂ emissions is, of course, hard to say, as everyone has different starting conditions. By now, it should be clear to everyone that it would be better to ride a bike or take the train to work, but not everyone has the infrastructure for that. An electric car instead of a combustion vehicle is also still not affordable or feasible for everyone. But if you have the option, it’s worth considering, because electric cars are proven to be more environmentally friendly than combustion vehicles. If an electric car isn’t an option for you, you could at least consider taking the train for your next trip instead of driving or flying.

It would also be important to choose a sustainable energy concept for your home. This starts with proper insulation and a sustainable heating system, like a heat pump. Adding a photovoltaic system for electricity or switching to a green energy provider would also reduce your CO₂ emissions.

These would be changes that require one-time effort but then automatically reduce your CO₂ footprint. In everyday life, as mentioned, you could ride your bike more often to go shopping. While doing so, you could shop more consciously and focus on local products – although, of course, you have to look at whether something is actually produced more sustainably, depending on the product. Especially for regularly consumed food, it’s worth doing some research.

And what many (myself included, at times) find difficult: Reducing meat consumption at least, if it's not possible to completely give it up. Nobody is perfect, and no one expects perfection. It's already better to reduce meat consumption to once or twice a week instead of eating it every day just because giving it up completely seems too hard. Because, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), livestock farming is responsible for about 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The less meat we consume, the less land is needed for grazing and growing feed, less water is used for meat production, and, in my opinion, the most important point, animal suffering is reduced, which would be significantly lowered with a vegan diet. Switching to lab-grown meat would also be an alternative, but unfortunately, that’s not possible just yet. 😉

Closing Words

I hope I was able to make some climate facts more accessible and easier to understand in this article. Instead of traveling to places that are already threatened, it would make more sense to first actively change our own lifestyle and live in a more climate-conscious way. After all, we only have this one planet.

If you want to travel, it's best to choose more climate-friendly modes of transportation like trains and visit places that aren’t already heavily impacted by tourism and climate change. Often, you can also have a great cycling or hiking vacation nearby. You don’t always have to go on a long trip to experience something special.