For the majority of us, flights can be the biggest influencer on our overall carbon footprint.
Just one return flight in economy class from New York to London can emit 2.2 tonnes of CO2 equivalent gases, (we use 'CO2 equivalent' because this measures both CO2 and other greenhouse gases emitted, translated to their CO2 equivalent amount).
To put this into perspective, going car-free for en entire year could save 1.33 tonnes of CO2, and going vegetarian for a year could save 0.9 tonnes.
It can also be difficult to understand the impact of tonnes on the climate. That's why we recommend you to take a look at www.shameplane.com to learn more about the impact of our flights on melting arctic ice. It's pretty depressing - but important to know.
So what can we do? Of course the best solution is to reduce flying where possible - but sometimes that's not practical (for example our CoFounder Josie needs to travel from Islamabad to London - that journey is not safe via land!). If you do need to fly, it's best to fly direct; saving fuel for an additional takeoff and often increased distance travelled, and fly with an airline using newer planes, which are more fuel-efficient.
Carbon offsetting is another option if you do really need to fly - but more on that next time...
To reduce your flight emissions:
Fly less
Fly direct
Offset if you need to fly
Fly economy