Offset Explained: Flying sustainably, dream or reality?

What is Carbon Offset & the best Carbon Offset Projects

Part of accepting the reality of climate change means accepting that we must change our own lifestyle—and that is not easy. Air travel is undoubtedly one of the choices I struggle with the most. As much as I try and travel by train and use public transportation whenever possible, there many places I visit and work in that are only accessible by airplane.

An important step towards a greener lifestyle is also recognizing that flying is not only a privilege but also a tremendous cost to our environment. The aviation industry is currently responsible for about 5% of global warming, and although the number in itself seems small, we have to bear in mind that only a very mall percentage of the global population flies regularly or has even set foot on an airplane in their lifetime.

As much as I would love to write otherwise, for now, there are no real ways to fly eco-friendly and according to the scientific community, regardless of the fast advancements in technologies and fuel, there won’t be any zero-emission airplanes for at least another twenty years. So what should we do?

OFFSET EXPLAINED: carbon offsetting your flights

One of the most widespread ways of reducing the impact we have on the environment while flying is through carbon offsetting our flights. In simple language, carbon offsets are voluntary schemes in which people chose to pat to make up for the emissions their flight is producing. I know this sounds great, but I’m not out here to sell you lies: carbon offsets are not straightforward and have often been controversial in environmental debates. In short, carbon offsets are not solutions but merely a shifting of moral responsibility for carbon reduction. So ultimately, if you really are interested in cutting down on your own carbon emissions the answer is simply to fly less.

As much as carbon offsets should not be regarded as a guilt-free way to travel, there are still absolutely worth looking into, so here’s a simple guide that will help you navigate through this concept and chose the best carbon offset programs.

OFFSET EXPLAINED: how does it work?

Carbon offsetting does not get rid of the carbon dioxide produced during your flight—that one will inevitably end up in the atmosphere, what it does is make up for it by reducing carbon offsets somewhere else. I know this sounds confusing, but essentially, by investing in carbon offsets, you are investing in a project which claims will reduce CO2 levels by the same amount which you produced with your flight.

In science jargon, a single carbon credit is an exchangeable currency that represents the avoidance or removal of one tonne of carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon offset projects range all the way from tree planting to improved cookstove technologies in developing communities and the beauty such a wide selection is that it really does give you agency when the time comes to chose which project you would like to support.

In order to be effective, carbon offsets need to meet a set of strict criteria. First off, a successful carbon offset project has to be permanent—meaning it cannot be reversible in the future, for example: how can you guarantee the tree you plant today won’t be cut down in ten years? The project also has to abide by the rule of additionality—boils down to ensuring that the emissions reduction project would not have occurred without the financing from carbon offsetting, and finally, the project needs to be traceable and verifiable.

OFFSET EXPLAINED: the cost of carbon offsets

Carbon offset calculators all work slightly differently, and the resulting amount can be different from one platform to another. However, a fairly typical fee is around $13 for each tonne of carbon dioxide offset. Other factors to the changing price tag are the changing metrics of your flight route. For example, stopovers often increase your carbon footprint and so does flying in anything other than economy class—that’s due to the lower efficiency of flights allowing business and first-class seating.

OFFSET EXPLAINED: best carbon offset programs

There’s an incredible amount of different carbon offset programs many of which boasting with images of lush green forests and happy children, but beware because not all are regulated and many can be misleading. Environmental advocacy groups have also advised choosing individual projects rather than letting an airline chose for you, giving you more agency and knowledge on where your money goes. I know looking for the right one can feel like a full-time job, but thankfully for you, I have done the research and I have compiled a list of my 5 favorites carbon offset projects.

1. Native Energy

Native Energy is as interesting as it is different from other major carbon offset programs because it chooses to focus on one single project at a time. Rather than spreading their funding across different programs, Native Energy prioritizes the completion of one project at a time. As of May 2020, Native Energy’s individual scheme was focused on a project funding clean water filters in Honduras’ coffee producing regions.

2. My Climate

My Climate is a classic and sure value when it comes to offsets. If you don’t know where to start and are overwhelmed by your possibilities, this one’s the place for you! This platform not only puts the accent on traceability and transparency by making their annual reports available to the public, but they also support a wide range of international projects with gender equity in mind.

3. Sustainable Travel International

Sustainable Travel International is quite classical in its approach but also highly respected in the international travelers community. The non-profit funds projects that center on and around preventing deforestation, irresponsible development and over-exploration. Sustainable Travel International has a built in calculation tool which makes it very intuitive and easy to use.

4. Terrapass

Terrapass projects are interesting because they run exclusively in the United States and offer solutions to environmental problems by supporting vulnerable communities. Their main concentration is in energy and they have projects ranging from capturing landfill gases to supporting wind power. The offsets options offered by TerraPass are on car and airplane emissions, home energy use, and offsets schemes for business as well as events such as weddings. This one is a personal favorite!

OFFSET EXPLAINED: is it worth carbon offsetting?

The ultimate question remains: is it worth carbon offsetting? Well, I think that answer can be different for each and everyone of us. But there is one thing for sure and that’s the fact that whether you offset or not, the same amount of carbon dioxide is going to be released by the flights you decide to take. In that case, if you choose to fly regardless, offsetting in my opinion is better than doing nothing and still stepping on that plane. The only true way to reduce your emissions is by choosing to fly less, but as that’s not always an option, why not offset? And if offsetting does not seem appealing to you, than you could look into funding environmental projects directly.

OFFSET EXPLAINED: additional resources

I am very much interested in both transparency and accountability, so in this article, I want to make sure that you also have access to hearing the voices on the other side of the debate. Some scientists and environmentalists have argued that carbon offsetting does not work and even, in some cases, are sternly against carbon offset projects. While I don’t entirely share their opinion, I did want to link and share an article that aligns with this way of thinking in case you are interested: https://www.responsibletravel.com/copy/carbon-offsets.

In addition, if you are one to need frightening reminders when it comes to your own carbon emissions—some people need that, here is a very insightful tool named Shame Plane.