Did you know that a flight from Sydney to Perth and and back can produce the equivilent to the total emissions of a small car for a year?
No-one has come up with hybrid or electric plane engine (yet), so what can be done about emissions from flying?
The first thing you can do is try and reduce the number of flights you take. If you fly a lot on business, think about how you can reduce the need to fly. Video-conferencing, phone link ups, and using other internet-based tools for collaboration may be one way.
Is there a holiday destination that will be as much fun that you don’t need to fly to? Or one that might require less flying? Can you plan your stopovers to minimise the number of flights you need to take?
But what about those times you have to fly? Luckily, there’s a way you can effectively reduce your flight’s emissions to zero - it’s called “offsetting”.
We’ve put together a guide that explains offsets in a bit more detail - but in essence, you pay a small fee to an offsetting company to invest in projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the same amount that your flights produce.
One of WWF’s partners, Climate Friendly is one such offsetting company. They have a great calculator that you can use to work out your flights’ emissions, and then offset those emissions at the click of a button.
So next time you’re planning a flight for work or pleasure, why not try offsetting your flight. And let us know how you go.
(As an aside, you can also offset your car in the same way.)
Although planting trees, I’m told, only ‘freezes’ emmisions. Once the trees die, the emissions get released back into the atmosphere. Only a short-term solution. However, I think it would be much more financially and environmentally economical to invest in solar energy. Wind energy means revegetation projects are unable to be planted ( or not? - You tell me), but since the vast majority of Australia is desert, with more sun than anywhere else on the planet, we should have solar plants, powering the entire country. We could export this energy to the world. Nuclear Power makes as much sense as eating only chocolate as a diet. You gain weight and there are serious health ramifications. The symbolism of chocolate represents nuclear power.
Good point Reuben.
There are different types of offsets - not all are created equal. Tree-based offsets definitely play a role as a form of “sequestration” (effectively, moving CO2 from the atmosphere), but their not our preferred option for offsetting.
I posted something recently to the Future Blog with more on the topic:
http://futuremakers.com.au/carbon-offsets/
I fly from Brisbane to Perth and back about once or twice per year.
I use the carbon neutral scheme by “Men of the Trees” in Western Australia to off set/ green wash my carbon guilt for these trips. I like that particular scheme as they plant trees in areas that require rehabilitation, especially in salt affected areas of Western and South Australia.
Dead trees still hold carbon until they are burnt. Big dead trees provide habitat for native animals and birds. And if big dead trees die and fall into a muddy salt lake into an anaeroic environment, they still hold the carbon in them until future generations dig them up as coal. Dead trees are useful as long as they aren’t burnt inefficiently.
Part of the reason for the trips is designing and building the straw bale, photovoltaic powered, rain water tanked, composted toileted home I plan to live in. Unfortunately I need to work in Queensland to finance that goal.
I am from Germany but work in Sydney. Once a year I fly back to spend christmas with my family.
I work in the carbon market myself and feel very guilty every time that long flight approaches. However, my overall carbon footprint is very small as I know what to look out for. I don’t have a car, my house is hooked to green power and I do every little thing possible to save emissions throughout the day - switching appliances off at the powerpoint, taking only very short warm showers, and of course I’ve changed all my light bulbs.
I use the Carbon Reduction Institute www.noco2.com.au to offset my flight to Germany; mostly because they don’t use trees and their calculators is one of the most comprehensive out there. 100% of the offsetting money they collect from me is spent on renewables and energy efficiency projects.