Damaris Osorio
- Feb 7, 2019
- 2 min read

How Regular Air Travelers Can Offset Their Carbon Footprint

Updated: Dec 19, 2019

With airfare being more accessible than ever, many environmentalists are concerned that increased travel will have a great affect on escalating carbon emissions caused by aviation. The global aviation sector accounts for 2% of human-caused CO2 emissions, and it is growing at a proliferate rate compared to other fields.¹

Why should you care? Your carbon footprint alone may not be causing mass climate change, but aggregated with all other human-induced carbon footprint, it does, and at an irreversible rate.

More surprisingly, shorter flight routes emit more carbon than long-haul flights, mainly due to the immense amount of empty-leg flights. Passenger occupancy has a 48% affect on efficiency optimization in aviation, meaning that the more empty a plane is, the worse it is for the environment. While this is totally out of your control as an individual, you can combat this by searching by seat selection and choose to fly on routes that have less seats available. How can you find these options? Simply look at the amount of tickets left, look at the seat map, and stick to popular flying routes.

On the other hand, the type of aircraft has a 31% affect on efficient optimization, meaning that you can consciously choose to fly on more efficient planes. You may think this is expensive, but even budget carriers like Ryanair and Norwegian Airlines fly highly efficient planes on long distances and popular routes.

Fortunately, you can offset your carbon footprint simply by calculating your air route here and donating towards a renewable energy mission that is currently in the works. From planting trees in the Amazon, to building renewable wind energy in Uganda, there are many projects that are working to build an everlasting sustainable impact on the earth.

Fight Climate Change! Calculate your carbon footprint based on your daily lifestyle habits and donate towards climate change initiatives today! Click the link below to learn more.