Our Favorite Carbon Offset Projects
While we wait for air travel to catch up, we cover some of our choice carbon offset programs to track, reduce and remove families’ footprints.
In our increasingly connected world, it’s easier than ever to jump on a plane.
Previously associated with luxury and exclusivity, flying has become more accessible as travel as a whole has been democratized— low cost airlines, increasingly accessible routes make reaching even a region as remote as Micronesia not out of the question, and if you’re willing to battle jet lag with your little ones, only a small cost of an epic family adventure.
But our planet is paying a price— aviation is responsible for 2% of the world's human-induced carbon emissions, and with 1.4 billion international travelers as of 2019, our airwaves are taking a beating, and our world is a-heating. Greta Thunberg raised her sign and started a revolution for the incoming generations, the movement our kids will inherit, with the Flygskam, or no fly, movement.
In Europe especially, frequent flying has become increasingly frowned upon; politicians are thumbs-downed for taking private jets to head up climate conferences, environmental NGOs are calling for a tax levy to target frequent flyers, and kids are out in the streets protesting the climate crisis. For families, multiply that by how many children you have, and flying seems like an altogether irresponsible endeavor.
Airlines are trying to restore their image with offering ‘greener’ flights and promises of carbon offsetting— programs and projects that remove carbon from the atmosphere.
So what do we think about offsetting? We shouldn’t have a band-aid fix for a clearly chronic habit, we need to change our ways from the ground up. Many of us who live abroad want to continue to visit our family and friends, and many of us must travel for work. Yet like in every other industry, we cannot buy our way out of the climate crisis. Plus, programs that offer carbon capture via tree planting have also been discredited due to the time it takes to capture the carbon and the likelihood of the trees being destroyed in the process (releasing more CO2 into the atmosphere). So where does that leave families that are seeking to be climate positive when they do travel?
With sustainable aviation being a long way off and limited land travel options, it’s still difficult to travel abroad in an eco-friendly way. A reputable carbon offset program can be effective when simultaneously reducing your footprint and get our kids involved. Luckily, there’s a growing number of technologies that can capture carbon in a more effective way than past projects.
We’ve compiled a list of the best carbon offset programs to use for tracking and offsetting your flights - to be used alongside reducing your flights (not just instead of).
Carbon Offset Programs
Sustainable Travel International
Working since 2002 to transform tourism’s impact on nature and communities, Sustainable Travel International also offers flight offsets for travelers. Calculate your family’s travel footprint on the website and then pay a contribution toward a certified carbon reduction project that supports reforestation, clean energy and local communities.
Tomorrow’s Air
Tomorrow’s Air is the world’s first collective of travelers dedicated to inspiring and engaging a global travel community to clean up carbon from the atmosphere and store it permanently. Travelers joining Tomorrow's Air support much needed climate education in travel plus contribute to carbon removal innovators like direct air capture provider Climeworks (see below). Travelers can make a one-time contribution or join with a monthly subscription from as little as $10 a month which removes 85kg of carbon emissions a year. They also receive special savings from a curated community of sustainable travel providers.
Climeworks
Climeworks develops and builds machines that capture carbon dioxide directly from the air (the same technology used by Tomorrow’s Air). Individuals can reduce their carbon footprint by joining one of their ‘carbon dioxide removal subscription’ services. Starting from $15 a month, you can permanently remove CO2 from the atmosphere and know exactly how much has been removed in your name. Check out their Orca project in Iceland.
Project Drawdown
Project Drawdown isn’t a traditional carbon offsetting scheme, but a nonprofit organization that’s on a mission to help the world achieve drawdown - the point when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop growing and start to steadily decline. By making a one-off or a monthly donation, you can support research, insights and technological solutions to global warming. We love the girls’ education, family planning and climate adaptation initiative here.
Carbon Offset Apps
There are a number of apps that are making it easier than ever to track and reduce your carbon emissions with the press of a button.
Carbon Donut
Let a sewing expert mend your clothes? Cook negative carbon pancakes? Take a trip to the library instead of buying new? Check. Carbon Donut calculates how much carbon you and your family uses in daily life and visually presents the measurements to show which areas can be most improved upon in a fun and actionable way. The app encourages you to make climate-smart decisions with tips and immediate actions to take to reduce carbon emissions in home and life.
Capture
Capture allows you to track, reduce and remove your carbon emissions all in one place. Track your journeys via the app and choose from a range of Gold Standard carbon offset schemes all around the world to offset your emissions.
Klima
Calculate your emissions and offset them by supporting science-backed projects around the world. You can choose from natural solutions (tree planting), technological (solar power) or social solutions (providing clean cookstoves to developing nations) through the app.
Reforestation and Rewilding Projects
Investing in rewilding projects helps to fight climate change by protecting and restoring wild ecosystems, wildlife and biodiversity. By rewilding our land and seas, we can capture carbon and help to mitigate climate catastrophes such as flooding and wildfires. While it’s worth checking out local rewilding projects (i.e Rewilding Britain and Planted (Germany), here’s some excellent projects that are rewilding all across Europe.
Rewilding Europe
Rewilding Europe is on a mission to restore large natural landscapes in at least 10 different regions of Europe. If you’re looking to offset a specific amount of carbon from your flights, you won’t find that option on the website, but you can make a donation to support the conservation projects.
Mossy Earth
Individuals can sign up for a monthly membership, where the team carry out tree planting and rewilding projects on your behalf while sharing the results of your impact with you. Unlike typical carbon offsetting schemes, Mossy Earth prioritises restoration by only planting in areas where natural regeneration is unlikely. Read the benefits of their methodology here.
ForTomorrow
For Tomorrow makes it possible for everyone to take part in climate positivity with a simple subscription service for individuals and businesses. You pay a monthly fee and they take care of the offsetting for you through tree planting and buying European emission permits. Emissions trading is the most efficient tool to reduce climate-damaging gases in the European economy. By creating fewer emission rights for companies and power plants, they have no other option but to reduce or halt their emissions.
While these are great options for reducing your climate impact, always remember that the best action you can take is by not flying or choosing less carbon-intensive transport modes such as train travel. Use these programs in combination with limiting your air travel and be sure to travel responsibly when you’re on the road this year.
