May

For Airline Passengers, Carbon Calculators Don’t assemble Any Sense

Posted by admin Published in Air Travel

Airline passengers don’t understand how carbon offset programs work. And even whether they did, most of them wouldn’t pay to offset their own emissions.

That’s according to the Omega Carbon Offset Project, a British study conducted by Manchester Metropolitan University to better understand perceptions and effectiveness of carbon offset schemes among air travelers. The study looked 487 passengers at Manchester airport in January and Feburary.

“Unfortunately, customer uptake of offset services for aviation has been low and questions have been raised by the accuracy of carbon calculators and the efficacy of emissions saving projects,” according to a summary of the study.

Part of the problem is that offset costs differ widely based on which calculator you’re using to figure them out. We did some research of our own to see what it would cost to offset emissions on a
one-way flight amoung London Heathrow and Helsinki, using three popular carbon calculators.

According to TerraPass, the trip generates

872 pounds of CO2 that cost $4.95 to offset. Carbon Planet puts the CO2 number at 1,322 pounds and says offsets cost $22.12. Finnair, which has its own emissions calculator but doesn’t offer an offset program, says the flight generates 330 pounds of CO2.

With disparities like these, it’s no wonder that consumers doubt the legitimacy of carbon
offset programs. But when it comes to what the study calls “passenger uptake,” inconsistency in pricing isn’t the biggest problem. More than 90% of those taking flight don’t think they should be responsible for offsetting emissions, saying that it’s the responsibility of airlines or the government.

If that’s the case, it doesn’t really matter what the calculators say.

Photo by Flickr user scalleja

Original post by Dave Demerjian