One of the most important focuses of the current Erasmus+ program period which started in 2021, is sustainability. All programme participants are encouraged to think about their travel method when going abroad and, if possible, prefer an environmentally friendly travel method.
According to the Erasmus+ program guide, environmentally friendly ways of travelling are:
- A train
- Carpooling
- A bus
- A bicycle
If the participant finds another green way of travel, they are asked to specify it.
According to the Erasmus+ program guide, green vehicles are not a ship, an airplane and a car or a motorcycle (if the latter two are used alone).
By traveling in a more environmentally friendly manner, the participant can apply for an additional green travel allowance of 50 euros, as well as an additional living allowance worth up to 6 travel days.
In order to receive additional support, at least half of the distance from the sending institution to the receiving institution and back must be travelled green. The distance should be calculated with the Erasmus+ distance calculator. To receive support, you must fill out the document confirming the green travel method and send it to karoli.koiv@emu.ee.
To plan your trip
According to these rules, it is quite difficult to travel in a green way beyond Latvia or Lithuania, but we still recommend you to try it. There are quite a lot of sites/pages on the Internet with more information about this, and if you can't follow these tips 100% when going from Estonia to the destination country (because Estonia has no train connection with the rest of Europe, for example), then maybe you can keep them in mind while you're there and travelling around and perhaps you'll prefer travelling by train or bus instead of low-cost airlines.
Here are some pages that may help you plan your trip:
Travel with CANIE - CANIE
Tips for Reducing Your Emissions: Planning to Fly and On-Site Reductions - CANIE
The man in seat 61
