The upside is that 21st century Germans go home.

Deutsche Welle reports:

Travel by road and air is the cause of 90 percent of the climate change impact caused by transportation. A study from Norway discovered that the biggest travel culprits are middle-class Germans.

Globalization has made almost any area in the world a possible holiday destination. Journeys to far-off places have become quicker and more affordable. The tourism industry is booming and a world without tourism is hard to imagine. Yet besides creating employment and leisure opportunities, the increased use of transportation also leads to a greater impact on climate change.

A new study by the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo, Norway (CICERO), shows that Germans are among the world’s top travelers. They travel five times more than the average world citizen. And it’s the better-off Germans who do the most damage.

“The wealthiest top 10 percent of the German population is responsible for almost 20 percent of the total climate impact of travel,” says the report.