FARE TRADE

How and why to carbon offset your travel

Carbon offsetting effectively means that you are paying a price to remove the emissions produced when you fly or drive by investing in programs that have a positive effect on the Earth, thereby cancelling out or neutralising your impact. Programs that airlines or their offsetting partners contribute to include reforestation, landcare and social initiatives that prevent the same amount of CO2 entering the atmosphere through their actions.

Research prior to the worldwide pandemic showed that greenhouse gas emissions from commercial air travel were actually growing at a much faster rate than previously predicted by the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization – up to 70 per cent faster, in fact. So flying out on your annual family getaway is having an increasing, and devastating, effect on the climate.

The report by the US-based International Council on Clean Transportation explained the total CO2 increase over the last five years was equivalent to building about 50 coal-fired power stations, with the United States and China topping the list of culprits in first and second place. These larger-than-forecast increases are cancelling out things like developments in more fuel-efficient aeroplane engines and clean fuels. So, short of never leaving home again, offsetting is a tangible way to cancel out the damage you do every time you board a plane or hit the road.

Maybe the question should be: ‘What is the alternative?’ We are at a tipping point when it comes to climate change and at this stage we have to work on the premise that every little bit counts as the alternative is actually too frightening to contemplate. A good rule of thumb if you are concerned about where the difference is being made is to offset with companies and not-for-profits that support Australian initiatives so you can see both the benefit and the results in your own backyard.

It would take an economics degree to explain the ins and outs of how carbon pricing works, and unfortunately there is no standardised price on carbon at the moment. In practical terms your emissions when flying are calculated based on the length of your journey, the type of aircraft you are travelling on and sometimes the cabin class you are seated in. All of this information is converted into a total CO2 emissions amount in tonnes, and then a charge is applied to this. But the fact is that carbon offsetting is probably nowhere near as expensive as you think. Greenfleet

a leading Australian not-for-profit environmental organisation established in 1997 with a mission to protect the climate by restoring forests, offers both domestic and international carbon offsetting on both long-haul and short-haul flights. The cost of offsetting a return domestic short-haul flight (Melbourne to Sydney for example) costs just $12, and $36 for a domestic long-haul flight (Melbourne to Broome). You can also offset through your chosen airline at the time of booking; the carbon offset price for a return flight from Sydney to Melbourne on Qantas’s website is roughly $2.

(greenfleet.com.au),

The easiest way to offset your flights is directly through the airline at the time of booking; the option is usually presented at the end of the booking process. If you are travelling by road, always try to book hybrid or electric models when hiring cars or offset your own vehicle annually (based on size) through Greenfleet.