I used to fly around the world in all-expenses-paid luxury – but I couldn’t face my conscience | Carlton Reid

Quitting flying as a travel writer was easier than I expected. Now for the hard part: convincing my family to do the same

As a travel writer, I'm used to receiving invitations to five-star resorts in far-flung destinations such as the Seychelles, all expenses paid. But now I ignore these emails. I quit flying three years ago. I'm not afraid to fly; I stopped because of the climate crisis. In addition to travel, I write about green issues, and I decided I could no longer in good conscience specialise in sustainability while continuing to fly.

I was a late convert to the cause, taking a plane to Israel in 2020 to write about a Palestinian cycle advocacy group. A trip like that would be off limits to me today, even if peace broke out any time soon. It's all but impossible to reach Israel from Europe without flying. It's almost as tough to reach the Antipodes from the UK without a long-haul flight, so bang goes a quick-ish trip to New Zealand or Australia.

Carlton Reid is a freelance transport journalist