CO2 Emissions
I've done some research on my carbon footprint from this trip using a C02-emissions calculator I found on a German website, and I was quite stunned by the result. Travelling overland by motorcycle seemed somewhat environmentally unfriendly. And although I could ease my mind my telling myself "come on... it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing", the impact on the environment has always been in the back of my mind.
The emissions calculator I used allows for fairly detailed user input, and it does differentiate between cars, car-shares and motorcycles.
So – What's the result? Let's have a look:
Fuel Consumtion:
With an average of 3.85 l/100km over the course of 50000 km, my carbon footprint is 5.37 tonnes of CO2.
A one-way flight from London to Sydney (17000 km) would have been 5.58 tonnes of CO2.
The motorcycle I'm using is renowned for its low fuel consumption. Depending on fuel quality, terrain and travel-speed, I used anything between 5.2l/100km on a motorway (45.2 mpg imperial), down to 2.98l/100km (94.8 mpg imperial).
Had I ridden the bike on a more direct route (i.e. straight from Iran into Pakistan and without the loop through Cambodia and Laos), I would probably have emitted about 3.3 tonnes of CO2.
Life on the road:
Whilst travelling, I either camped or stayed in cheap guesthouses without air-conditioning. And since I was pretty much 'following the sun', there was no need for heating either.
Consumer behaviour also adds to the carbon footprint, as a lot of products travel a long way before they hit the supermarket. Once I had left Europe, I believe I mostly consumed products from local markets. (There are hardly any big supermarket chains anyway, and I just can't see onions from Argentina being sold on a market in South East Asia, for example).
Flights:
Add 3 flights on top of all this (Nepal to Thailand, Malaysia to Indonesia and East-Timor to Australia), and my overall CO2 emissions on this trip were pretty much equal to what the average German person uses over the course of a year.
Comments on this are very much appreciated. I'm not trying to come across as the 'good guy' and I'm not trying to justify anything. I just wanted to find out for myself and did these calculations to the best of my knowledge – and I was amazed by the result.