Flying has a big impact on our carbon footprint and our planet. You’ll sometimes hear that aviation is “only” responsible for about 2% of all greenhouse gas emissions but 90% of the world don’t fly and 1% account for over 50% of emissions from flying. Furthermore airlines don’t have a credible plan to cut emissions so aviation’s share of total emissions is set for take off. Long-haul flights are the most carbon-intensive and flying contributes to other environmental problems, such as noise pollution, air pollution and contrails (the nice looking white wispy trails that planes leave but which can also double the global warming effect of flying). There’s only really one way you can reduce your flying and your carbon emissions:
The simplest way to reduce your flying emissions is to fly less often and for shorter distances. You can do this by choosing alternative modes of transport, such as trains or boats, or by having fewer but longer trips. You can also explore local destinations or have a staycation instead of flying abroad.
If you do need to fly then don’t persuade yourself that offsets work. Carbon still goes into the atmosphere, the amount of carbon removed from offsets is hard to measure and it’s not often clear that it gets removed at the same time, or even in the same year, as when your emissions are created. With a need to cut emissions every year it’s a tempting way out but one that will not help us halve emissions. We need to cut first.
Make a planet saving change – Stop haul flying