Guide to carbon offsets for flights

As you know, taking a plane is not beneficial for the climate at all. To minimize your carbon footprint by air travel, carbon offsets for flights have been introduced. Are you curious how offsetting carbon emissions flights exactly works? Or do you want to know how to buy carbon offsets for flights? Read further!

What is a carbon offset for flights?

Maybe you are not familiar with carbon offsets for flights yet. Carbon offsets for flights are voluntary schemes where people pay to make up a little for the emissions their flights produce. Basically, it is a way to partially compensate for your air travel carbon footprint. The scheme you pay, funds initiatives that reduce carbon emissions like projects for renewable energy or planting trees. This sounds like a good idea, but there are some downsides when it comes to buying carbon offsets for flights. One of them is that carbon offsets for flights can be suspicious, since some of them are run by profit companies. Because of this, some people find it hard to tell which ones are worthwhile. There is no such thing as an acknowledged quality label. Questions can also be asked when it comes to the price of carbon offset for air travel. How much do you actually need to pay to make a difference, for example? To help you with this, you could use an air travel carbon footprint calculator. I’ll tell you more about this later in this blog.  

Should you buy carbon offsets for flights?

Maybe you’re wondering if carbon offsets for air travel are really necessary. Because how much does air travel contribute to carbon emissions? Long story short: Flying is by far one of the most carbon-intensive activities in people's lives. Aviation accounts for around 2.5% of global carbon dioxide production at the moment, but the industry is still expanding. On top of that, planes fly high in the atmosphere, which causes more damage than transportation on the ground. New technologies like electric planes could reduce carbon emissions, but it’s a slow process. One thing you can do right now is buying carbon offsets for flights. But how does that work?

How to buy carbon offsets for flights?

There are a lot of parties where you can buy your carbon offset for air travel. Unfortunately, not all organizations provide high-quality carbon offsets for flights. As an individual, it takes a lot of time and effort to evaluate these projects in detail. Luckily, environmental organizations often do research on this topic too. You can look for an organization you trust and see if they recommend particular carbon offsets for air travel. 

Some airlines offer opportunities to buy carbon offsets for flights during the booking process of a ticket. Participation is completely voluntary, so you can decide for yourself if you want to collaborate on this. But again: Evaluate the project so you’re sure that your money is used well. 

Calculate your air travel carbon footprint

If you decide to offset your carbon footprint air travel, another question pops up. How much do you need to donate? Various carbon footprint calculators for air travel have been developed to decide what amount of carbon offsets for flights to buy. Based on your flight distance, weather circumstances and type of airplane, carbon footprint calculators for air travel can guide you to decide how much money you need to donate in order to compensate your carbon footprint air travel. Note that every carbon offset scheme calculates things differently. Some are a lot more comprehensive than others. 

Other ways to reduce your impact than buying carbon offsets for flights

Next to offsetting carbon emissions flights, there’s much more that you can do. When you’re planning your trip to Aruba, you can also consider staying in an eco resort. Or eat vegetarian or vegan a few times during your holiday. You might not know, but Aruba is a true paradise for vegan travelers. Of course there are more ways to travel more sustainably. Read our blog for tips to travel sustainable and get inspired!