Transport of goods and people is one of the primary drivers for the growth in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Global CO2 emissions increased by 13% from 1990 to 2000 but CO2 emissions from road transport and aviation grew by 25%. In the European Union, most sectors reduced their GHG emissions from 1990 to 2001 but emissions from transport increased by nearly 21%. The growth in GHG emissions from transport is expected to continue throughout the world. Projections in the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios show that by 2050 as much as 39% of total CO2 emissions are projected to come from the transport sector compared with the 1990 figure of 20%. Projecting further, from 2050 to 2100, it is calculated that CO2 emissions from the transport sector will rise to 47% of total CO2 emissions, while the percentage of CO2 emissions from residential/commercial and land use change sources remain steady, and those from industry decrease from 20% to 12%. The TransTourism partnership seeks to develop, implement and promote initiatives for transport links and services adapted to rural tourism areas in Iceland, Sweden, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Scotland. Tourism is seen as a crucial means for the promotion of environmental and socio-economic sustainability in these regions. These initiatives will be achieved through the introduction of new and improved bus services that cater to the requirements of local and seasonal demands on transportation services. By encouraging the use of public transport, carbon emissions and parking and traffic congestion will be reduced during off peak and particularly peak seasons. In addition to advocating new transport services and the uses of existing ones, the project aims to devise innovative, sustainable, environmentally beneficial, and economically viable transport information services for rural tourism areas. The implementation of these new services will discourage private car dependency and will improve accessibility by public transport to tourism areas leading to longer term economic and environmental benefits. The methods TransTourism partners are implementing to do this are shuttle bus services, on-demand traffic and flexible, dynamic timetables. In Sweden timetables are being adapted according to season in the participating winter tourism areas, which will be supported by IT applications. In eastern Iceland small scale transport services will be adapted to meet the needs and demands of visitors to the region as well as methods to integrate access points to the country with existing public transport services. In the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland IT and information services will be developed and implemented for local travel within the tourism areas. While in Scotland, an interactive website is being developed to facilitate travel planning in the Scottish Highlands.