flying? how to offset your carbon footprint
now that the world is opening back up again, traveling is booming. I myself love to travel and am so excited to be able to plan and take trips again, especially to see loved ones that I haven’t been able to spend time with in over a year.
but, as someone who is trying to do my part to not contribute further to climate change, I am mindful of the products I buy, food I eat, and transportation I take. unfortunately, flying has a big carbon footprint, like BIG. in the US, aviation accounts for around 12% of our carbon emissions. globally, it contributes around 2.4% of the total CO2 emission (2018). that might not seem like a lot, but as a nation, that would place aviation as the 6th largest contributor.
to put in perspective: a roundtrip flight from San Diego to NYC is the equivalent of 1.3t of CO2., in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change (1.5 degrees warming), an individual’s carbon footprint should top off at 0.6t of CO2. so with one cross country flight, I would already be double what my total carbon footprint should be.
I share this not to say that you should never fly again, I don’t think that it realistic. I share this to give awareness of the impacts of flying. there are easy ways to reduce the impacts of flying overall and to offset the impact of what cannot be reduced.
Ways to Reduce:
1) Fly Coach/Economy: Business Class and First Class seats take up more space and resources, meaning that there is a greater carbon footprint associate with each seat as compared to economy seat. For a long haul flight, first class can have a carbon footprint 4x as big as an economy seat.
2) Fly Less, Travel Longer: flights emit a ton of carbon emissions, there is no way around that. so if you can limit the number of flights you take by taking fewer, longer trips, you will cut down on your impact. For example: take (1) two week trip versus (2) one week trips.
3) Avoid Short Flights: Traveling is always going to have an environmental impact, so when is it better to drive versus fly? There are a lot of variables to consider, but generally, for shorter distances, driving will be less environmentally impactful. When taking longer flights, try to fly direct; a larger portion of the carbon emissions comes from the takeoff versus cruising. The chart below shows the comparison between modes of transportation:
For most trips, if you have 2 or more passengers, taking the car is going to be a more environmentally friendly choice. Important to note that the emissions for the car are for an average diesel car, meaning a fuel efficient gasoline car will have lower emissions, and a hybrid or electric, even lower :)
Offset the Flights You Do Take:
before I go in how to offset your flights, I want to give this disclaimer: offsets are not a replacement for behavior change. the most environmentally friendly action you can take is to fly less. given the environmental impact of flying, I think we all should be cognizant of how often and how far we are flying.
critics of carbon offsets will fairly say that 1) some are not certified offsets, meaning that your money might not directly fund projects that will provide a carbon reduction and 2) that some of these projects, like planting trees, will take years to realize the carbon offset benefits. all true, but i still think offsetting the flights you take with certified, verifiable carbon offsets is better than nothing!
to start: what is a carbon offset? the general idea behind carbon offsets is that you are reducing the CO2 emission created from an activity (in this case flying) through an action or project that absorb carbon (such as restoring forests) or reduces carbon that would’ve otherwise been emitted (building wind farms reduce fossil fuel reliance). The emissions created by the activity you are undertaking should net out with the emissions avoided to be “neutral”.
The first way to offset your flights is to buy your carbon offsets directly. The two I like the most for ease of use are Cool Effect and Terrapass. GoldStandard is another option for carbon offsets but I think a little more difficult to determine flight specific offsets.
Cool Effect: 90% of every dollar goes directly to the project. You can read more about each of their projects and see what verifications the project holds.
Terrapass: using their flight carbon offset, simply enter the total air miles traveled and it will calculate your carbon offset for you. Terrapass uses only quantifiable and verified carbon offsets, including Gold Standard, Verified Carbon Standard, American Carbon Registry, and the Climate Action Reserve. They also offer additional options, such a Green Wedding, or Eco Tourist offsets.
image credit: Terrapass.com
The second way is to buy the offsets through the airline. Some airlines now offer the option to offset your flight when booking with them:
Delta has a CO2 emission calculator that allows you to enter your flight information and then select projects that advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
United offers a program for corporate travel offsets, in partnership with Conservation International.
Jet Blue has partnered with Carbon Fund to allow customer to donate towards energy efficiency, renewable energy, or forestry projects.
in summary:
take a bus or transit when you can,
if you’re driving, carpool with others
if you must fly: take a direct flight, fly economy, and offset your flight with verified carbon offsets
