How to Buy Carbon Offsets for Flights
For many of us, flying is one of the most carbon-intensive choices we can make. How intensive? A single return flight from LA to NYC creates 1.3 tons of CO2e per passenger That's close to what the average person living in the Philippines emits in an entire year.
Flight emissions play a key role in global carbon inequality. Around 90% of people on Earth will never get the chance to fly, while 1% of the world’s population produces more than half of aviation emissions.
If you want to reduce your flight footprint, there are three key ways to do it:
1. Fly less by skipping a flight when you can. Try public transit or driving instead.
2. When you have to fly, fly more sustainably by avoiding layovers, flying economy class, and taking fewer, longer trips.
3. After you've done what you can to reduce your flight emissions, that's where offsetting comes in. More on that below!
What are carbon offsets?
Carbon offsets help businesses, governments, and individuals compensate for the emissions they produce. When we purchase carbon offsets for flights, we invest in climate solutions that are working to counteract our share of a flight’s emissions.
A carbon offset credit represents one metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) removed from the atmosphere. In theory, this helps neutralize emissions produced in one place (like a flight) by reducing or removing the equivalent amount elsewhere.
Carbon offsetting isn't perfect. The carbon offset market lacks regulation and standardization, and many projects don’t actually provide the benefits they purport. In fact, one EU study found 85% of offset projects it examined were unlikely to achieve their reduction claims.
But carbon offsetting can be effective when you can support trustworthy, vetted projects and prioritize lowering emissions as much as possible.
Are airline offsets legit?
The aviation industry has embraced carbon offsetting in recent years. Many airlines even offer flight emissions calculators so customers can offset their travel footprint right at checkout. Unfortunately, while airline offsets can help ease flygskam (Swedish for "flight guilt"), some are pretty ineffective.
A 2021 investigation by the Guardian, for instance, found forest protection schemes used by major airlines do not provide emissions reductions consistent with their predictions. In other words, some airlines get the green credentials and leave our emissions in the air.
We reviewed carbon offset programs from the six largest US airlines, using the same criteria we use to analyze projects in Commons’ Carbon Portfolio. See the full breakdown here: Can You Trust Airline Offsets? Ranking 6 Major Airlines.
How to find high-quality carbon offsets for flights
It can be tempting to check “offset flight emissions” when you buy your ticket, but how do you know if the airline's offsets are trustworthy? These are Commons standards for high-quality offsets:
- Transparency: Businesses that rigorously vet their offset vendors will make it easy to find information about the specific projects they support, including how they verify reduction claims and exactly how they use your offset dollars.
- Verifiability: Reputable certifications like Gold Standard and Verra are a good starting point, but they’re not enough on their own. Look for companies that also perform their own rigorous evaluations and are transparent about their specific criteria and processes.
- Additionality: Offsets must provide a benefit that wouldn’t have happened otherwise – i.e., reducing, removing, or avoiding additional emissions. Otherwise, projects get credit for environmental benefits they didn’t create, and greenhouse gas levels continue to rise.
- Permanence: A high-quality project’s carbon reduction or removal is hard to reverse and keeps carbon out of the atmosphere for a long time. An offset program should demonstrate how their projects maintain a long-term impact.
- Enforceability: If a vendor sells a carbon credit to multiple parties, you won’t actually neutralize your emissions. Offset programs should provide evidence the credits they buy are sold once and then retired.
- Transformative Potential: Beyond compensating for today’s emissions, offset projects should contribute to a future where all life can thrive. Look for environmental and social co-benefits and solutions that could help advance global decarbonization efforts.
For more information, read our guide: Everything You Need to Know About Carbon Offsets.
With Commons, buy carbon offsets for flights with confidence
Analyzing carbon offsets on your own can be daunting. At Commons, we know firsthand the meticulous research it takes to do it right. As carbon offset skeptics, we call up developers, pore over reports, and cross-check verifiers for every offset provider we evaluate to ensure your dollars go to a worthwhile cause.
Commons’ Carbon Portfolio supports the highest-integrity carbon reduction and removal projects on the market. There’s no silver bullet for climate change, and our portfolio invests in the mix of climate solutions we need to get our world to net zero emissions by 2050.
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