Offsetting carbon does not mean we can fly without guilt

CWould Prince Harry and Meghan Markle be barkers and bite on the environment?

The couple allegedly took four private plane trips in 11 days. At the same time, they say they want to protect the environment. Harry says "every choice, every footprint, every action makes the difference". They even decided to have only two children "for environmental reasons".

The media accused them of stealing too much, and famous supporters defended the couple.

However, as Sarah Arnold pointed out in an article for L & # 39; Independentif we all followed the example of our royal superiors and took climate change with a pinch of salt, the world would be condemned.

Elton John said that he had paid to offset the carbon emissions of his flight to his French home – but this practice does not allow us to travel without guilt.

The unpleasant reality is that we have to reduce the number of flights.

Generation easyJet seems to want to eat less meat and use less plastic, but giving up holidays abroad seems to go too far. British airports are expected to increase their overall capacity by 59% by 2050. This is more than double the increase seen by the Climate Change Committee, the official advisory body, which aims to achieve the zero carbon the 2050 horizon.

Phil Williamson of the University of East Anglia said, "Carbon offsetting is a way to limit the damage. If the royal members of jet aircraft can reduce their footprint on the planet, we must encourage that, not criticize it. But there is an urgent need to directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from all sources, not just from aviation. "

Compensation systems calculate a person's carbon contribution to an activity and then allocate their donation to CO2-sucking projects, such as reforestation and energy programs.

One of the problems is that the compensation systems do not absorb the carbon they claim. For example, tree planting relies on the protection and care of saplings for many decades – and future politicians or developers could still decide to send the bulldozers.

The United Nations Clean Development Mechanism is one of the most important carbon offset schemes, but according to the Institute for Applied Ecology, 85% of projects had a "low probability" of sequestering the promised amount of carbon.

Compensation must become much more effective if we want to continue flying, farming and relying on heavy industries, according to Professor Piers Forster of the University of Leeds.

"While many offsetting programs do laudable things, such as developing clean energy, they do not necessarily reduce emissions," he said.

"So, rather than abandoning them, a well-thought-out compensation system can help provide the investment needed to develop robust, large-scale carbon capture and storage," he said.

According to the International Air Transport Association, only 1% of flight passengers compensate for their emissions. We will have to increase the compensation of our flights, but at the same time – and more importantly – we must reduce the source of the emissions.

For this to happen, Generation easyJet must keep their feet on the ground – and Harry and Meghan must use their privileged position to show the way.