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Insight and Environment

Planning to carbon offset your flight? You should read this first

Carbon offsetting seems like an easy solution to climate guilt, but not all offsetting schemes are created equal

By Adam Vaughan

17 July 2019

People getting off plane

Flights are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions

Jochen Knobloch/Plainpicture

GRETA THUNBERG’S recent speech to the UK parliament was memorable not just for her oratorical firepower, but for how she got there: by taking trains from Stockholm to London, not a plane. The climate striker isn’t alone, as Swedes have driven the flygskam (flight shame) campaign. About 2000 people in the UK have pledged not to fly, while academics are being urged to fly less.

But what if we still want or need to take the plane for work, holidays or meeting loved ones? The main option to…

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