• Home
• How does flying contribute to climate change?
• What's the impact of flying?
• Can technology help make planes greener?
• What can I do about it?

Consider whether offsetting would help

Back to Actions you can take

The chances are that if you've booked a plane ticket recently, there's been an option to offset the emissions from your flight. But can you really pay to cancel out flying's impact? How does it work?

The theory behind offsetting is that you can cancel out the bad effects of your greenhouse gases by preventing new ones being created somewhere else.

Offsetting organisations calculate the emissions that you generate, then take your cash and invest it in projects that stop the same amount of emissions being produced elsewhere. So where does your money go?

There are lots of different types of offsetting projects - from ones that build wind farms in India to schemes providing families in Mexico with energy-efficient stoves. Projects like these aim to prevent new emissions being generated, by helping people in other countries switch from polluting sources of energy to greener ones. Other schemes are designed to actually take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, such as schemes to replant the rainforest in Uganda. Many offsetting projects also claim to improve the quality of life for people in developing countries by helping them access cleaner energy and technology. Sounds perfect? Not quite...

Just greenwash?

Many environmental groups argue that the principle of offsetting just doesn't work.

'Offsetting delays the urgent action we need to tackle climate change. It encourages people to carry on polluting as usual - thinking they can buy their way out of trouble: "I've offset so it's OK to fly as often as I like." What we really need to do is reduce our own emissions,' says Tom Picken, International Climate Campaigner at Friends of the Earth.

Some people also question the credibility of offsetting projects such as tree planting. Planting trees to soak up CO₂ sounds simple, but calculating how much greenhouse gas a tree absorbs is pretty difficult. This means you might think your trip is guilt free, only to find that not all the gases have been accounted for. And while flights pump out CO₂ instantly, trees take years to soak it up - not ideal considering climate change needs tackling urgently. And some studies suggest that trees planted outside the tropics might even do more harm than good because of an effect known as albedo - as trees planted outside the tropics absorb more of the Sun's heat, making the planet warmer overall.

Other offsetting projects have been criticised for having a damaging impact on communities and the environment in the developing world. Planting vast areas with the same type of tree reduces the diversity of local habitats. Some forestry and hydroelectric dam projects have also resulted in local people being removed from their land. So is it all bad news for offsetting? Or can you tell a good offsetting project from a bad one?

If you do want to offset your emissions, then look out for projects that have been awarded a 'gold standard', as they're likely to be more effective. Earlier this year the UK government also established a voluntary code to help ensure projects do what they claim.

Offsetting remains a controversial way of tackling flying's impact on climate change. And most people agree that it would be better if we could avoid creating emissions in the first place, rather than just offsetting them later on.

So will you choose to offset the next flight you take?

Make a pledge