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Welcome to the Carbon Offsets wiki!
This is a guide for those interested in offsetting their personal carbon emissions from flying (or anything, really). We created this guide because the information available online for individuals looking to offset their personal emissions is often not clearly presented, out of date, or not impartial.
Quick Version:
1. Calculate your emissions in metric tons CO2-equivalent using the Climate Care.org online calculator. You can add multiple journeys. View your basket to see your total emissions. Do NOT purchase offsets here!
2. Purchase carbon offsets from one or more projects listed on Cool Effect.org, or from BP Target Neutral. (See BP's Project Portfolio.) You will need to round your offset purchases to the nearest tonne for CoolEffect.org.
3. Tell us how much you offset and which projects you chose!
Let's see how much of our collective carbon footprint we can offset!
Long Version:
Voluntary carbon offsetting is still a relatively new and the market is not very transparent or well regulated. We wanted to answer some of our own questions and concerns about carbon offsetting before recommending that anyone purchase offsets. This wiki is a collection of what we've learned.
For a good overview, check out the Offset page.
Our Findings:
- There are established standards (VCS, Gold Standard, and CDM) which are doing an increasingly good job at enforcing quality requirements on carbon offsetting projects and retailers.
- The carbon offset market is still not very convenient or transparent for individuals seeking to offset their carbon emissions (businesses are better catered for). Individuals need to do their own due diligence to make sure that they are purchasing high-quality offsets at a reasonable price.
- Carbon offsets are cheap! At an average of $3.0 per tonne (Source (p. 8)), it would cost the average US citizen only $3.0 * 16.4 tonnes ~= $50.00 to offset their entire year's carbon emissions (Source).
Our Recommendation:
We do think that carbon offsets are an effective way to reduce your personal contribution to climate change, as long as you are critical and careful about where you purchase your offsets from.
Here are the key arguments for voluntary individual carbon offsetting:
- Voluntary carbon offsets provide a way for individuals to reduce impacts from hard-to-avoid emissions (like flying to another continent to visit loved ones.)
- High-quality carbon offset projects provide a way to fund cheap "low-hanging fruit" emissions reductions which might not otherwise happen due to lack of political will or organisation.
- High-quality carbon offset projects can provide co-benefits to communities or ecosystems. Choose projects with co-benefits you care about.
Of course, offsetting should only be a part of your plan to reduce your impact. In many cases the most effective reductions come from lifestyle choices which directly reduce your emissions.
Learn More:
If you'd like to learn more, check out our notes on:
Or, check out the FAQ.
Don't trust us? Here's some more information about flying and carbon offsets from other sources:
- "A complete guide to carbon offsetting" or "How can I offset my flight emissions?", both from The Guardian.
- "Flying is Bad for the Planet. You Can Help Make It Better." from the New York Times.
- "On the flight path to global meltdown" in The Guardian - This article by George Monbiot offers a more extreme argument: that we must halt our air travel pretty much altogether.
Contribute:
If you'd like to contribute to the wiki, let us know!
Email us at: