Ryanair offers to offset you flight CO2?

Dhenalau

https://corporate.ryanair.com/news/ryanair-goes-greener-with-new-carbon-calculator/

Will this work in reality, or is it just Greenwashing Marketing?

RooksPawn

Lots of airlines offer this now, for example Lufthansa.

I guess the idea is that the money you pay is used to support tree-planting projects?

magicbastarder

greenwashing. a round trip from dublin to gatwick releases about 300Kg of CO2 - donating €2 is not going to offset that.

RooksPawn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119423872#Comment_119423872

Thanks for info. I guess they calculate on the basis that if every passenger paid, it would offset and you can only expect each person to pay their share?

magicbastarder

or else they've calculated that if they asked more that €2 it'd put people off, so their calculation is based on what people might be willing to pay, rather than on how much it would cost to actually offset?

L1011

Greenwashing. A lot of the things which generate credits to be bought as offsets are neutral at best, or actually damaging.

The cookstoves / kitchens one that is explicitly mentioned there is known to not actually be anywhere near as good as claimed - many people who get them just cook more (as it easier), some still using their old kit too, and put out as much or more CO2 than before!

Reduces local air pollution for the users and makes life easier for them, but doesn't work as a carbon offset.

Robin_K

Aer Lingus is doing this now too. It seems like greenwashing to me as I can't actually see the benefit in the offset credits.

gossamerfabric

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119423872#Comment_119423872

I am having a hard time to reconcile your claim with Ryanair's claimed 0.019l/km per passenger

source: https://corporate.ryanair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Enviromental-Policy-Doc.pdf

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=dub-lgw&DU=km

.019l per km x 486km x there and back i.e. 2 = 18 litres of kerosene. 3.16 kg of co2 to the litre so about 60KG

Please help me to understand the delta between your claim and the claims of Ryanair.

magicbastarder

i think i got that from a 'calculate your carbon footprint' site but since i didn't post a link and it was over a year and a half ago, i couldn't tell you which site that was.

this one calculates it at less than half that, 132KG:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2019/jul/19/carbon-calculator-how-taking-one-flight-emits-as-much-as-many-people-do-in-a-year

Robert333111

The article linked in the first post states:
'[…] is delighted to expand its carbon offset programme which currently allows customers to contribute €2 towards carbon offset projects. These contributions support several environmental initiatives, including Renature Monchique – a reforestation project in the Algarve; the distribution of energy-efficient cookstoves in Uganda by First Climate; Balikesir’s Wind Power Plant Project in Turkey and Improved Kitchen Regimes in Malawi powered by CO2 Balance (the latter two in partnership with Shell). Since […] voluntary carbon offset scheme commenced, customers have contributed over €3.5m to environmental projects […]'

"Off-setting" is also often linked to governments and companies who refer to meeting targets for “net zero”.
My conclusion from available information is that “off-setting” is entirely bogus.

This is because there is not enough “off-set” in the entire world, to “off-set” "Human Greenhouse Gas Emissions", so that 'off-setting" one's flight emissions amounts to nonsense!

This concept of allegedly "off-setting" "HGGE" may also remind people from their knowledge of history, that the Church (and I mean no disrespect here) used to allow the payment of "Dispensations" and "Indulgences" - to "off-set" sins.

Wally Runs

It is worth noting that that all commercial aviation in the EU is subject to the Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) which is to say that (some of) the external cost of the CO2 emission is attributed to the Aircraft Operator. The Aircraft Operator can absorb that cost or pass it directly on to the consumer. Presently, the Aircraft Operator receives a portion of free allowances to cover their activity, but over time this will reduce to zero and the full cost will be attributed to the Aircraft Operator to pass to the customers.

In time the total number of allowances will also decrease thus pushing up their price. Ideally the full, social, economic and environmental cost of air travel will be incorporated into such services. Like for like on any given route, the Aircraft Operator with the most efficient aircraft and the highest load factor will have the lowest CO2/per passenger.

In the meantime, revenues raised by the sale of some of the allowances, depending on the Member State, go to environmental, sustainability and climate projects such as home retrofits, public transport, education and so on. I imagine Ryanair and the others are giving the customer an opportunity to close the gap sooner rather than later.

The OP is correct to question veracity of any off-setting scheme. Trust is key and reputation is everything. Whatever feelings one has towards the likes of Ryanair, they do care very much about their brand. I would therefore assume (always a risk) that they have done their homework on the service they are offering.

https://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/transport/reducing-emissions-aviation_en#aviation-emissions