That鈥檚 two questions, Dana. You鈥檙e only supposed to ask one. But I鈥檒l be generous and answer both. Let me start by elaborating on the point and purpose of carbon offsets for commercial plane travel. Airline travel around the globe is immensely impactful to the environment鈥攖here鈥檚 no way around it. , and that鈥檚 not even mentioning the other noxious particles that aviation exhaust belches into the air.
The theory goes that if you buy carbon offsets for an extra charge with your plane ticket, you鈥檙e canceling out your footprint by helping to fund earth-saving projects. Most airlines partner with some carbon offset company to provide you with this option.
If only the setup were this clean and easy. First, different carbon offset companies use different calculations for the quantity of CO2 in your individual footprint and the price per pound. tells me that a round-trip flight from Boston to Los Angeles would leave me responsible for 2,131 pounds of emissions for a total offset cost of $14.50. gives me 2,481 pounds at a cost of $17.85.
Second, assuming that these calculations are in the right ballpark, who鈥檚 to say that your contribution is being efficiently spent? There鈥檚 no gold-standard auditing organization or government agency in the U.S. responsible for certifying the work of carbon offset companies. How much of your money is paying for administrative costs? How much of its revenues are going directly to earth-saving projects? How do you know that the work on the it鈥檚 cleaning, or the hydroelectric dam it鈥檚 building, or the tree it鈥檚 planting wouldn鈥檛 have been done regardless of whether this company made a contribution?
In my book , I wrote about a landfill that was required by law to reduce its methane emissions鈥攁nd was essentially bailed out from using its own cash by a carbon-offset organization scrambling for ways to spend money on renewable projects. You need to do your own homework to find out about the organization you鈥檙e buying carbon credits from.
Finally, buying offsets doesn鈥檛 wipe away your environmental sins. (I鈥檒l admit, I鈥檓 a sinner, too.) It simply pays off the guilt. The only true way to reduce your footprint is to live more sustainably, not pay someone to plant a tree.
Now, to actually answer your two questions: Are you making a difference by buying offsets? Yes, you are making a tiny little difference, and that鈥檚 better than nothing. And are they worth the money? Not really. You鈥檙e better off using that cash spent on airline offsets to directly make a difference in your everyday life. Cut out the middleman and take the $20 you鈥檇 use for carbon offsets and buy some compact fluorescent bulbs for your house, or put it into a pot to save for a more efficient washing machine or tank-less water heater. If you want to make a difference with airline travel, fly less鈥攁nd badger the airlines to start recycling programs and stop throwing out all of the in-flight plastic cups, cardboard, and soda cans.