A LICHFIELD woman has undertaken a commute like no other after travelling 3,000 miles by train to attend a UN conference in Armenia.
Emma Cooper, who works on global climate change adaptation for Birmingham-based charity Islamic Help made the nine-day journey to fundraise for projects and highlight the "potential and joy of slow travel".
The 35-year-old's work focuses on helping communities in the Global South adapt to and mitigate environmental impact. But despite her green credentials, this often means that she has to travel by air.
Emma said:
"I think people know that flying is bad for the environment, but I don't think many people realise just how large the impact is.
"Long-haul flights typically emit multiple times each person's yearly Carbon Budget, which is the amount we can afford to emit in order to stay within the earth's safe limits."
After being invited to present on the charity's work at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity COP-17 event in Armeni, Emma started looking for alternative ways of travel.
She discovered that it was possible to travel overland from the UK to Armenia by rail, passing through eight countries and catching ten trains and two buses along the way.
"The CO2 emissions of the journey are 75% less than they would be if I was flying.
"Including all the daytime and sleeper trains, accommodation and a global e-SIM so that I can work while I travel, it works out only £100 more expensive than flying.
"I'm not expecting anyone else to decide to take a nine-day, 3,000 miles train journey, but I am hoping that this trip will show people that flying really isn't their only option.
"I hope to encourage more overland travel that takes a couple of days, especially for business. Trains are comfortable, usually more spacious than planes, have beds you can book if travelling overnight and usually have Wi-Fi and plugs. Some even have restaurant cars for a relaxed lunch or dinner.
"All of these things make travelling by train much more appealing to me than flying."
Nazim Tasadiq, director of international programmes and partnerships at Islamic Help, initially thought Emma was joking when she outlined her travel plans:
"When she explained her reasoning and plans as to how she would work while she travelled, I thought, why not?
"As an international development charity our staff do have to fly a lot and we are aware that it is important that we find ways to reduce our emissions. So, I think this initiative is a great first step to get us thinking about how to do more on that front."
Emma's conference appearance will see her present on panels covering projects the charity is working on in Tanzania and Pakistan, including a children's eco village project.
People can support Emma's fundraising efforts during her trip via a Launchgood page.
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