Why choosing to offset your flight’s carbon emissions isn’t always the greenest option

When you book a flight online, you will often have the option to offset the carbon footprint of your trip.

You will be asked if you would like to add a small supplement – sometimes even less than €5 – to the price of your reservation to offset part of your flight’s emissions.

However, carbon credit systems have been repeatedly denounced by scientists and climate activists as ineffective or even harmful.

So should you choose to offset your flight emissions or are there other options to make your trip more eco-friendly?

How does flight carbon offsetting work?

When you take a flight, the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere can be calculated.

A one-way ticket from London Heathrow to Paris Charles De Gaulle, for example, emits around 0.32 tonnes of CO2.

When you choose the purchase option carbon creditsthe idea is to offset emissions by funding a program that will remove or store the equivalent amount of carbon elsewhere, often by planting trees.

The illusion of carbon compensation systems

For many climate scientists, the problem with carbon credits is that they do little to reduce flights – and perhaps even encourage them if travelers think they can make travel environmentally friendly and avoid the formidable flygskam or “shame of stealing”.

Carbon offsetting at most cancels out the emissions already released into the atmosphere, but does not reduce them as travelers are sometimes wrongly believed.

What’s more, many compensation programs have been called ineffective by scientists, while others may even have a negative impact.

Tree planting and forest protection programs in particular are questionable, but projects to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) hold about a quarter of credits in the voluntary carbon market.

A 2023 study researchers from UC Berkeley concluded that “current REDD+ methodologies likely generate credits that represent a small fraction of their claimed climate benefits.”

Other investigations have even shown that these systems can have negative impacts on indigenous peoples and local communities who are forcibly evicted from certain lands.

Legitimate carbon offset programs should be verifiable and long-term – with a strategy in place for the care and maintenance of the planted trees – and prove that these are additional projects, i.e. the actions would not have been taken differently.

What are the alternatives to carbon offsetting your flight?

Don’t steal This is absolutely the best way to make a trip more respectful of the planet.

Taking a train instead of a short-haul flight in Europe can reduce your emissions more than 85 percent.

Thanks to Europe’s railway renaissance, long-distance train travel is faster, more comfortable and cheaper than it has ever been. Use websites like Omio and Trainline to find routes, prices and book tickets.

Train travel can often be as quick as taking a plane, because you don’t need to arrive at a station hours in advance like you do with a plane. There are also very rarely limits on baggage, reducing stress when packing.

Related

In addition, it is healthier to be able to travel on a train rather than being limited to a small seat on a plane. Trains also offer perks such as child-friendly carriages and, on long journeys, comfortable beds so you can arrive at your destination refreshed and save on the cost of a night’s accommodation.

But if you must fly, you can choose to do so with airlines that use sustainable aviation fuel and choose an economy class seat: business class passengers take up more space and therefore generate more emissions.

Opt for large commercial planes rather than small planes or private jets, because accommodating more people means emitting less per individual journey.