National Geographic Traveller UK 10.2019

What is carbon ofsetting?

For well over a decade, individuals

and companies have been able

to balance the efects of their

emissions on the environment

by investing in, say, renewable

energies or tree-planting projects.

For an airline passenger, this

might mean ofsetting the carbon

emissions from one ticket on

a London to Los Angeles light

by donating €133 to climate-

protection projects via German

nonproit Atmosfair, which has a

carbon footprint calculator.

What began as a system with

largely unregulated schemes has

become more sophisticated as

awareness of the climate crisis

has grown along with travel’s part

in it (transport overall accounted

for a third of UK carbon emissions

in 2018). Ofsetting is now part of

a global energy market.

IMAGE: GETTY

WHAT ELSE CAN

TRAVELLERS DO?

STAY AT HOME

Sporadic reports suggest

Britain may retreat from

its sunseeking traditions

to become a nation

of staycationers. Not

travelling abroad is an

easy way to reduce your

footprint and save money.

FLY WISE

It’s hard to overstate the

impact of lying for those

who do venture abroad.

In Sweden, ‘lygskam’, or

‘light shame’, is said to

be inspiring a big switch

to rail travel. Swedish

teenage climate change

activist Greta Thunberg,

who this year took trains

across Europe and even

sailed from Plymouth to

a climate change summit

in New York, is leading

the way.

TRAVEL CONSCIOUSLY

If you’re going to jet off

somewhere, whatever

the distance, there are

growing options to do

so as sustainably as

possible, while also

navigating the tendency

among the industry to

‘greenwash’. An eco-

conscious tour operator,

like +Impact Travel and

Responsible Travel, will

take the uncertainty out

of booking an ethical

trip, sourcing genuinely

responsible lodging,

guides and destinations.

And if lying is a must,

offsetting can’t hurt.

positivetravel.ch

responsibletravel.com

SHOULD WE PAY AN AIR

TRAVEL CARBON TAX?

AS PART OF A GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE TO REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS AND

TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE, AIR TRAVELLERS MAY SOON HAVE TO PAY AN EXTRA

TAX. BUT WILL THIS WORK? WORDS: SIMON USBORNE

HOT TOPIC

Does it work?

Up to a point. Schemes remain

voluntary and popular awareness

is fairly low. The International

Air Transport Association says

just 1% of airline passengers

voluntarily ofset their emissions.

Book a light online with Virgin

Atlantic, for example, and there’s

no mention of ofsetting. Search

separately and you can ofset your

light with ClimateCare, a UK-

based environmental company

that works with the airline (a

relative bargain of just £5.70

will cover a one-way London to

New York light, it calculates).

However, critics are adamant that

ofsetting misses the point and

simply allows individuals, not to

mention giant corporate emitters,

to carry on as usual rather than

facing up to and, crucially,

investing in real change.

What’s the new proposal?

The ‘call for evidence’ report

published by the Department

for Transport last July explored

diferent ways to better engage

with passengers on the impact

of travel — with a focus on

carbon ofsetting. One idea is to

compel ticket sellers, including

airlines, to include the option

to ofset carbon during the

booking process by checking a

box. Ministers are clear that any

scheme should remain voluntary,

but also suggest an opt-out model.

Is it likely to happen?

Something has to give if

governments are going to meet

various climate targets. The

UK has legislated for a net zero

greenhouse gas emission target

by 2050 and needs consumers

to join the mission. But aviation

has been slow to address the

problem, only recently investing

signiicantly in research into

greener fuels, more eicient

engines and even electric airlines.

Even while proposing to help

inform travellers about the

true cost of their journeys, the

Department for Transport said its

focus remains ‘the development,

production and uptake of zero-

emission technology across all

modes of transport’. But in the

case of aviation, scientists say

those technologies may arrive too

late to alleviate the crisis.

CLEAN EATING

Birmingham’s Michelin-starred

Simpsons restaurant is hosting

a new cooking class on World

Vegan Day (19 November). £150

includes a three-course lunch.

simpsonsrestaurant.co.uk

CLEAN BREATHING

A new yoga break has launched,

featuring meditation, ice baths

and cold-water plunges in the

waters around Ireland’s Clifs of

Moher. Four-day retreat from €570

(£520). clifsofmoherretreat.com

CLEAN LIVING

Take a gastronomic walking tour

of rural Japan’s onsen network,

stopping for cleansing baths

in natural hot springs. Five

days from Y298,000 (£2,300).

walkjapan.com

CLEAN SKIING

Good news for eco-conscious

travellers: book via certain

operators, such as Scandinavian

Travel, and you can hit the snow

via low-, or carbon-neutral routes.

scandinavian-travel.co.uk

AND ANOTHER THING... CLEAN GETAWAYS

TRAVEL GEEKS

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