The Green Travel Budget: Is Erasmus Travel Truly Sustainable?

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Back in January, while figuring out my journey from Madrid to Barcelona for my first Erasmus project, I noticed something interesting — even though a flight was cheaper, I was being encouraged to use the Green Travel Budget and take a train instead. Up to this day, I’ve been on four Erasmus projects, and each time, that small nudge toward ‘green travel’ made me stop and think: 

“Is offering almost €100 more than the normal travel budget per person really worth it? Does it actually make that big of a difference?”

Well, let’s see — what exactly is the Green Travel Budget? 

The Green Travel Budget is an additional allowance provided by Erasmus+ to participants who choose sustainable means of transport instead of flights or other high-emission options. This includes traveling by train, bus, carpooling, or any other eco-friendly method. The idea behind it is simple: to encourage participants to choose slower but greener travel options by compensating them for the often higher costs and longer travel times associated with sustainable travel. For example, while a flight might be faster and cheaper, a train ride or a shared bus reduces your carbon footprint by up to 70–90% per person (European Commission, 2023). 

During my Erasmus+ journeys, I noticed the Green Travel Budget varied across projects, even when distances were similar. For instance, in the ‘EntreComp in Youth Work: Empowering Entrepreneurial Competences of Young People’ training course in Barcelona, participants traveling 100–499 km received €210 for green travel compared to €275 for non-green travel. In the youth exchange ‘Small Steps, Big Changes’ held in Alicante, the rates flipped: green travel was €210, but non-green travel was €180. Similarly, in the ‘Click Out Hate’ training course in Málaga, green travel was €210, and non-green travel €180. 

“Ok, but what would happen if the participants didn’t use green travel? How much damage would that do to the Earth?”

Let’s break it down: a one-way flight from Madrid to Barcelona produces around 115 kg of CO₂ per passenger, by a ballpark estimate, whereas the same trip by train produces only about 4 kg. That’s over 28 times less carbon emitted for the same journey (European Environment Agency) (Our World in Data). 

Now imagine a typical Erasmus+ youth exchange with 40 participants. If everyone flew instead of taking the train, the group would emit roughly 4.6 tons of CO₂ on that single route — the same as driving a petrol car for 18,000 km or charging over half a million smartphones. 

Multiplying that across the thousands of Erasmus+ projects that happen each year, the impact adds up fast. In 2023 alone, Erasmus+ funded over 1.2 million individual mobilities. If even half of those trips switched from plane to train for short-distance travel (under 1,000 km), it could cut over 60,000 tons of CO₂ — equivalent to the annual emissions of 13,000 European citizens (Erasmus+ Press Release, 2023). 

This shows that the Green Travel Budget isn’t just a minor perk or a symbolic formality— it’s a concrete way to reduce the carbon footprint while enabling youth mobility. Even small choices, like taking the train instead of a flight for a few hundred kilometers, add up when multiplied across hundreds of projects and thousands of participants. By consciously choosing greener transport, Erasmus+ participants not only contribute to a healthier planet but also set a powerful example for their peers. In short, every kilometer traveled sustainably counts — proving that a little extra budget can make a big difference for our Earth. 

So next time you hit the road for an Erasmus project, remember: the greener you travel, the cleaner the road you leave behind — and the better place the world will be.