3 Places to Purchase Carbon Offsets
One thing travelers can do to help mitigate the effects of air travel on our environment is purchase carbon offsets, which fund programs around the world that actively work to reduce greenhouse gases.
While, these purchases help, they aren’t a cure-all. We still need to find more efficient ways of travel, such as choosing nonstop flights, flying economy or taking trips by train whenever possible. However, if every person purchased carbon offsets for their travel, we’d be in a much better place.
why you should purchase carbon offsets
It’s no secret that air travel is a major offender when it comes to global carbon emissions - there’s a reason “Flygskam,” a Swedish word meaning “Flight Shame,” is trending.
The average cost to offset 1 tonne of carbon is $8. The average person releases more than 16 tonnes of carbon in one year, so a $130 donation - or about $11/month - will offset your carbon emissions for one year!
3 Places to Purchase Carbon Offsets:
This company was founded by WWF (an ERT fave) along with other international NGOs whose joint mission is to ensure that the money being used to help reduce carbon emissions also contributed to more sustainable development and were being carried out to the highest environment standards.
My favorite part about GoldStandard is that you can select to donate to specific projects around the world, so you know exactly how your money is being used to help offset your emissions.
This organization funds reforestation projects throughout the globe that foster women’s participation, empowerment and incomes. And we all know the importance of empowering women and girls - right??
CarbonFund has already done the work for you, by estimating your total carbon emissions based on your lifestyle. You can donate to offset your individual emissions, or if you are part of a couple, family and more. You can also purchase offsets based on the type of vehicle you drive, your air travel, home type and more. I make a recurring payment to CarbonFund to offset my travels each month, and was able to designate those funds to specifically address reforestation and avoided deforestation.