Photographer : Matthew Bradley @ Flickr
I apologise. No matter how much footage I see of chunks of ice breaking off Antarctica, no matter how many times I am told that air travel ruins the planet … I still want to get in a plane and go overseas.
After all, when you’re up in a jumbo jet looking down at land, sea and clouds laid out like one vast tub of Neapolitan ice cream, it’s hard not to think how insignificant the world is. Does a lone plane traveller make that much difference?
My initial research opened up a can of worms. Depending on which online calculator you use, a return trip from Sydney to London emits anywhere between 5.5 and 21.6 tonnes of CO2, as well as the usual mix of nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur oxide and soot.
I set out to investigate if it were possible to alleviate my guilt through carbon offsetting—and save the world in one fell swoop of an overseas-bound airplane.
Option #1: trees
My first port of call is the business of buying trees. Planting trees to offset carbon emissions seems both simple and aesthetically pleasing. Trees absorb varying amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere, depending on their age, growth rate, local climate and soil conditions. But of course it’s not that simple.
Trees take decades to mature, so buying a tree today means the carbon offset won’t be complete for decades. During this time trees are vulnerable to being cut down or dying naturally, while I’m vulnerable to undertaking more overseas travel. Also, many forests are planted in third-world and developing countries, putting a strain on water resources and local livelihoods.
As if this isn’t bad enough, Kevin Anderson, a scientist from Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research speculates that “even if the trees do survive, if we have climate change and a 2C or 3C temperature rise, then how do we know those trees are not going to die early and break down into methane and actually make the situation worse?”
Option #2: energy efficient technology
A lesser-known way to offset carbon emissions is to invest in energy efficient technologies in developing countries. This means supplying and installing things like fluorescent lights and redesigned cooking stoves in countries where infrastructure is being established.
The Tufts Climate Initiative states these projects have “great potential in decreasing greenhouse gas emissions” and well implemented programs are “among the best offset projects”. Then why do I have a niggling sense of doubt?
Implementing energy efficient technology in developing countries should be considered the duty of the wealthy economies of the world. But expecting this to make one iota of difference in the wider picture of climate change is not only patronising, but misleading. What about the lack of efficient energy technology in the halogen-lit, four-wheel-driving suburbs of Australia? I’m not sure my travel guilt is going to be sufficiently alleviated by a fluorescent light bulb in South Africa.
Option #3: renewable energy
My third option is to invest in renewable energy such as wind, solar and biomass, which in layman’s terms means burning dead plants and animals to create energy.
These projects are expensive, especially when built in developed countries. Renewable energy projects often face legislative problems and local resistance. Yet renewable energy provides a viable alternative to fossil fuel, as they draw on unlimited sources which are available all over the world, not just in small deposits. So it may be worthwhile putting my two cents in.
Option #4: paddle to Europe
Trying to calculate how much it costs to offset a return plane trip from Sydney to London gets confusing fast. I calculated with just five Australian companies, and my offset bill ranged from $55 to $506.
Even with goodwill and the money to back it up, offsetting carbon emissions is hardly a straightforward business.
George Monbiot, UK academic and activist says “buying and selling carbon offsets is like pushing the food around on your plate to create the impression that you have eaten it”. Monbiot compares the industry to the Catholic Church of the Middle Ages, which sold ‘indulgences’ to ‘offset’ the sins of believers. Monbiot argues that carbon offsets only encourage us to be “better consumers”, not better global citizens.
Dr. Mark Diesendorf from UNSW points out that “there are problems with offsets, but offsets can certainly be much better than flying without [offset providers]. The key issue is the regulation and control of them to make sure they’re doing what they say they’re going to”. At the moment there is no organisation in Australia that regulates the carbon offset industry.
It’s obvious that to be environmentally conscious, I should just stay at home.
But I can’t do that. So until a solar-powered flying machine is invented, I’ll be making do with offsets.
How do I know this?
Adam, D 2006, ‘Can planting trees really give you a clear carbon conscience?’,
The Guardian, 7 October,
http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/
0,,1889830,00.html
Adamson, J 2007, ‘Travel’s change of plan’,
The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 April,
http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/travels-change-of-plan/2007/04/09/1175971023072.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
AP 2007, ‘Are clean planes a lot of hot air?’,
The Age, 28 June,
http://www.theage.com.au/news/travel/are-clean-planes-a-lot-of-hot-air/2007/06/28/1182624046325.html?page=fulpage#contentSwap1
Green Learning,
Climate Change Resource Centre: Solutions,
http://www.greenlearning.ca/climate-change/solutions/lifestyle/getting.php
Flannery, T 2005,
The Weather Makers, Text Publishing Company, Melbourne.
Monbiot, G2006, ‘Paying for our sins’,
The Guardian, 18 October,
http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/
0,,1924450,00.html
O’Neil, C 2007, ‘On Flier’s Remorse’,
Budget Travel Online, July/Aug issue,
www.budgettravelonline.com/bt-dyn/content/article/2007/06/07/AR2007060701452.html
Stein, A 2007, ‘Carbon offsets: the real reasons to avoid trees’,
Grist: Environmental News and Commentary, 18 July,
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/7/10/84942/4328
The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research,
www.tyndall.ac.uk
Tufts University, Tufts Climate Initiative,
www.tufts.edu/tci
World Rainforest Movement, Planting Problems: Trees, Carbon, Money, People and Power,
http://www.wrm.org.uy/plantations/information/FOE.html
Carbon calculators
www.climatefriendly.com
www.carbonplanet.com
www.greenfleet.com.au
www.elementree.com.au
www.cleanerclimate.com
www.atmosfair.de
