Eco-friendly flying?

As the contribution of air travel to global warming becomes clearer, environmentally conscious travellers are looking to offset their carbon emissions as a way to lessen the impact of their journeys while continuing to travel.

Lonely Planet, one of the world’s most popular guidebook companies, has begun recommending that tourists buy carbon offsets as a means to more sustainable travel. Airlines and tour operators are offering many passengers the option to purchase offsets with their journey, leading to a rapid growth in the market for voluntary carbon offsets.

A carbon offset is a credit certifying that a greenhouse gas has been saved through an investment in a sustainable energy project, such as carbon storage, biomass or wind-farm projects in the third world. Climate Care, the company used by Lonely Planet to offset writers’ travel, has seen sales triple over the past three years, and predicts a ten-fold increase in 2007 to 1.5 million tonnes of carbon. Even so, the voluntary carbon market, estimated to be worth €74.4 million in the first three-quarters of 2006, is only a fraction of the €16 billion regulated market, which includes the EU’s emissions trading scheme, according to a report by Ecosystem Management.

While much of the growth in the voluntary carbon market is down to investments by companies, individuals and particularly travellers are venturing into the market as well. A Populus online survey found that about half of those polled knew what carbon offsetting was and 9% had purchased carbon offsets themselves for a flight - 2% from an airline or travel agent and 7% independently.

As the contribution of air travel to global warming becomes clearer, environmentally conscious travellers are looking to offset their carbon emissions as a way to lessen the impact of their journeys while continuing to travel.