What You Should Know About Air Travel Carbon Offsets

There are many important steps to take when traveling by plane, from packing a pair of compression socks to ensuring your passport is up to date if flying internationally. But there’s one important action item that many travelers overlook ― calculating your carbon emissions.

No matter how much you try to reduce the environmental footprint of your vacation or work trip, the fact remains that flying produces significant carbon dioxide emissions. According to the International Council on Clean Transportation, air travel accounts for about 3% of global carbon emissions, and the Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that flying produces 10% percent of all U.S. transportation-related emissions.

That’s why many airlines, booking platforms and third-party companies have started offering “carbon offsets” to help travelers neutralize their environmental impact. But these offerings have been criticized over their actual impact (or lack thereof), with some even calling them a “scam.”

Below, experts break down how carbon offsetting works, what you should know about its impact and other factors to keep in mind when it comes to your travel emissions.

“A carbon credit is a science-backed, third-party audited certificate that says that one ton of carbon pollution has been avoided or removed from the atmosphere,” Campbell Moore, managing director of carbon markets at The Nature Conservancy, told HuffPost. “‘Offsetting’ is the act of using the carbon credit. So, if I fly to a friend’s wedding across the country, and as a result one ton of carbon dioxide goes into the atmosphere, I would buy a carbon credit and use it to offset the one ton of carbon pollution I put in the atmosphere by flying.”

Basically, it’s presented as a way to compensate for the carbon dioxide emissions you produce by flying or through other activities by reducing an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide elsewhere.

“Some offsets use nature-based solutions ― like preserving or planting forests,” explained Jodi Manning, vice president of marketing and corporate partnerships at the carbon offset nonprofit Cool Effect. “Others use technological solutions, like carbon capture or replacing carbon-emitting energy sources with green technology.”

She noted that carbon offsetting has become increasingly popular in recent years, with Cool Effect’s first-quarter analysis this year showing a 186% year-over-year increase in travel offset purchases…