|
Sure, sustainable air travel is a work in progress. But there are several things you can do right now to minimize the impact of your flying.
Here are four of them.
➡️ 1. Choose direct flights where possible
According to OAG, the most carbon-intensive part of a plane’s journey tends to be takeoff and landing, so opting for direct flights could help reduce your impact. Keep in mind that there are exceptions though. For example, older planes generally produce more CO2 emissions than newer models – so a direct flight on an older plane may not be as carbon-friendly as indirect flights on two new planes.
Use the flight emissions filter when searching on Skyscanner to only see flights with lower CO2e emissions.
📝 2. Check out your airline’s sustainability initiatives
See what steps your airline is taking towards more sustainable flying. Have they set targets to reduce their emissions? Have they been accredited by an external source to verify their claims?
Find out by checking whether their emissions targets have been submitted and verified with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
💺 3. Fly economy
Why not cut emissions along with ticket costs? A World Bank study revealed that flying business class is around three times more carbon intensive than flying economy.
🧳 4. Pack light
Do you use everything you pack for a trip? If the answer’s no, it’s time to rethink your suitcase strategy. The more a plane weighs, the more fuel it burns, and the more emissions are generated. So removing just one pair of shoes could reduce the carbon emissions of your flight by about 2.5 kg of CO2, according to the UN Environment Program.
|
