The Frequent Flier Footprint
Contributed blog post from Cool Effect
Summer is officially in full swing and with it comes the season of weekend getaways and extended excursions. Every year, tens of millions of Americans travel both within the U.S. and abroad. Last year alone over 87 million international trips were taken by U.S. residents, according to an annual report by the International Trade Association, with most trips taking place during the summer months. While all modes of transportation have an impact on the planet, air travel in particular comes with a heavy burden. Whether you’re flying for fun, or for business, it’s important to remain aware of the impact that flying has on the environment.
How many tonnes are you emitting?
Do you happen to know how much carbon dioxide is emitted during a one-way cross country flight? Zero tonnes? Five tonnes? More? The answer is actually about 1.84 tonnes per passenger. For example, a standard Boeing 767 has roughly 200 or more seats, so every time that plane makes a trip from LAX to JFK, that’s over 200 tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere.
When you consider that on an individual level, 1.84 tonnes may seem inconsequential, but let’s put that in perspective. According to calculations from independent consulting group EcoShift, the average passenger vehicle emits 2.52 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. So that means that a one-way flight from Los Angeles to New York is equivalent to roughly 70% of what an average driver emits commuting in a full year. And the more you travel, the faster your footprint increases. On average, Americans emit 16.6 tonnes of CO2 annually (you can find a more detailed breakdown here). However, as you start racking up frequent flier miles, you also start racking up carbon emissions and they add up quickly.
If these figures are alarming to you, rest assured that there are simple actions you can take to make air travel more sustainable. For many, air travel is unavoidable and the fear of carbon pollution shouldn’t deter you from taking that week long summer vacation in Maui that you’ve been planning since last year. For your next trip (or even trips you’ve taken recently) consider carbon offsetting as a tangible way to account for your travel footprint.
Offset your emissions
A good way to assess your summer plane travel (or travel overall) is to calculate the emissions of your flight(s) by using an online calculator such as the one provided by ICAO or Carbon Footprint. Keep in mind, these calculators are meant to help you approximate the footprint of your flight. There are many variables that contribute to calculating emissions, such as the plane body, your fare class and the altitude at which you fly, and as such the results of various online calculators will vary slightly based on which calculations used.
Non-profit organization Cool Effect, which allows individuals to offset their travel by supporting a selection of the world’s best carbon reducing projects, has also already calculated averages for common flight segments and you can quickly and easily offset your trip through the dedicated travel page. By reducing your emissions through Cool Effect, you’ll support one of the triple-verified carbon reduction projects. With projects all over the globe, supporting efforts ranging from clean cookstoves to biogas digesters, your tax deductible contribution will not only make an impact in one small corner of the world, but will also make a global impact by helping reduce emissions. Check out the portfolio of projects and learn about how each are reducing emissions. Some projects that may stand out as you’re thinking about summer travel could be those that are based in popular destinations including: Alto Mayo Protected Forest in Peru, Los Santos Wind Power Project in Costa Rica, and the Farmer Biogas Digester Project in Vietnam.
Regardless of where you plan to travel this summer, it’s important to remember that your flight doesn’t have to hinder the fight against climate change. Do your part and reduce your personal emissions today at cooleffect.org.
Cool Effect is a Bay Area-based nonprofit that oversees an online platform where individuals can support funding for a collection of carefully-selected carbon reduction projects that are triple-verified and certifiably additional.
