The inconvenient truth about the carbon offset industry

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Title – The inconvenient truth about the carbon offset industry
Source – The Guardian
Date – 16th June 2007

We should all be concerned about our carbon footprint and the damage that our individual activities have on our increasingly fragile planet, but how can we consolidate the impact we have with our natural curiosity and desire to travel to the far corners of the globe with an increasing number of airlines offering cheaper and cheaper fares?

Carbon offsetting is one of the buzzwords of the day. The theory is you can do anything with a clear conscience if you just pay someone else, to either not to use their carbon entitlement or fund one of the ever growing number of schemes designed to cut emissions through funding carbon reducing projects. But like any new industry and any new scheme there have been flaws and there have been scams; so how do you know, in a very unregulated market place, what scheme is actually going to repair the damage of the flight to your chosen travel destination and the activities you partake in when you get there and how you can help prevent climate change.

There are a growing number of schemes to offset carbon, which are being shown not to have the desired effect or to be misleading. Planting trees for example, was a very popular way of offsetting carbon emissions in the early years, but these have largely been discredited, this is primarily because the calculations were either incorrect or calculated on the lifespan of the tree (in other words if for example there was a single tree that could be planted to offset your carbon emissions for your flight to Australia, that tree would have to grow for 100 years to offset the carbon emissions you use tomorrow…. Do we have 100 years to spare before we actually need to offset the carbon emissions of today?)

We examine the environmental and cultural impact of your travel in our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety and Awareness workshop. We look at carbon offset programmes that have achieved the gold standard, currently the only real indication that an offsetting scheme is actually scientifically proven. Just as importantly we examine ways you can avoid having a negative cultural impact on the locations and communities you visit in the course of your travels. This positive approach allows you to better explore and understand the places you visit and inherently increases your personal safety, while on your travels. At Beyond The Blue we believe in travel, but we understand that there is a price to pay and the many different ways in which you have to pay it.


Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com