Doing your best by turning the thermostat down, composting your food waste or adding solar on your house.. it feels (and is) good. But how frustrating is it to know that every time you get on a plane for business, family or vacations, you undo some of those carbon savings? 

Carbon offsetting doesn’t get rid of the carbon dioxide which is produced when you fly – that still goes into the atmosphere. What it does is make up for your share of the CO2 which gets released when you fly by reducing it somewhere else instead.  

The offset is usually based on measuring how many tons of CO2 are produced by each flight and investing in a project which reduces CO2 levels by the same amount.

There are two main types of offsets. First, forestry projects which either stop existing trees from being cut down or plant new ones. The trees act as a ‘biological sink’ by taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Second, energy projects which reduce the amount of fossil fuels used by investing in energy-efficient products or renewable technology.

So how does one offset one’s flight?  The easiest option is to offset directly with the airline when you book your flight. You just pay an extra fee on top of the flight cost which is donated to a carbon offset project. Around a third of airlines have some sort of carbon offset program, but how they work varies. Some utilize other companies’ programs to manage the offsets. Things to look for include how offsets are calculated (is it just mileage-based or more comprehensive?), the type of projects they fund, what percentage of the offset dollars are used in administration, and whether they’re certified by a trusted organization. 

Are there requirements to be a carbon offset project?  They have to meet three criteria. There has to be additionality – which means the project wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been funded by the money from the carbon offsets. There has to be no leakage – so you can’t reduce emissions in one place if it means they’re increased somewhere else instead. It has to be permanent – so it won’t be reversed in the future.

Information from: https://www.ontheluce.com/carbon-offsetting-flights/