Studying abroad was never something I expected to be part of my university experience. Yet, in Fall 2026, I will be leaving Canada to spend a semester at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. As an Economics student, I can’t help but think about the costs of doing so, whether they be monetary, environmental, or social. I’ve learned that everything is a trade-off, and a semester abroad is no exception. The question isn’t whether travel has an impact. A return transatlantic flight produces roughly 1.5 tonnes of CO₂. The real question is whether the experience can outweigh its cost.
At the beginning of my studies, I knew very little about the UN Sustainable Development Goals, let alone how interconnected they were with my everyday life. This soon changed, as sustainability was embedded in all learning environments. Through an economic lens, I’ve come to see Sustainability Goals as a question of incentives, trade-offs, and public policy. I became particularly drawn to SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 4 (Quality Education).
Although these always felt like such broad issues, they pushed me to consider how an economics degree could contribute to meaningful solutions. Eager to learn more, I enrolled in UVic’s SDGs in Action Course for exchange students, and explored the UN’s 170 Actions to Transform Our World.
As someone interested in policymaking, I was drawn to Scotland because of the challenging trade-offs between balancing economic growth with climate goals. Aberdeen, once the Oil Capital of Europe, is now repositioning around offshore wind and hydrogen, while the Scottish government pursues a net-zero target by 2045. It’s a live case study displaying the tensions between growth and climate challenges, the kind of SDG 13 policy challenge I can only hope to work on in Canada.
While in Aberdeen, I’ll take conscious measures that reduce my environmental impact. I’ll calculate and offset my flight emissions before leaving, using a Gold Standard-certified program. For all travel within the UK, I’ll choose trains over flights, routes already mapped on the Trainline app. Day-to-day buses and walking will be my default. I’ll shop locally, eat plant-based at least 5 days a week, and avoid fast fashion entirely. My goal when I return to Canada is not only to come home with a smaller carbon footprint, but to bring back a deeper understanding of policies that can help millions of Canadians reduce theirs. My exchange will never be impact-free. But SDG 4 isn’t just about access to education; it’s about the quality of what’s learned. Studying Scotland’s energy transition firsthand is something no Canadian classroom can replicate. If this exchange helps me become a policymaker capable of building more equitable and sustainable solutions, it becomes more than travel, it becomes an investment in long term change.
https://www.carbonfootprint.com
https://www.goldstandard.org
https://www.thetrainline.com
https://sdgs.un.org/goals
