Easy tweaks to help you take more eco-friendly flights
The aviation industry accounts for just about two per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions globally. Although that’s not a massive figure, those emissions are on pace to triple by 2050 because of rising passenger and freight air travel.
Your best bet for taking more eco-friendly trips is to opt for a train or a bus, which are a “carbon bargain,” according to the U.S.-based Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
But jet-setting business travellers will be reassured to know flying is at least more energy efficient than driving, according to the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute. In a 2014 study, the UMTRI found driving almost twice as energy-intensive as flying, based on how many BTUs are needed to move one person one mile. Global itinerants can lower their carbon footprint even further by employing the following simple strategies.
Opt for the cheap seats. A five-year-old World Bank study showed business-class seats had a carbon footprint two times higher than economy-class seats. First-class seats were about four times as carbon intensive.
The explanation: seats in first- and business class are bigger and fewer of them are occupied (resulting in a lower load factor), so it requires more fuel per person to deliver premium-class passengers to their destination. They also tend to carry more luggage, adding weight to the plane and ensuring it burns more fuel.
Made in the shade. According to Travel + Leisure, flight attendants ask you to lower your shades and open the vents for a reason. It helps keep the heat out, reducing the plane’s cooling load and saving energy. In fact, if all passengers comply, the plane can be 10 degrees cooler. Cathay Pacific also asks passengers to lower window blinds before they get off the plane, too, as “it helps reduce the temperature, which is beneficial during the heated summer months.”
Out with the old. Newer model airplanes aren’t just more comfortable, they’re lighter and more fuel efficient, so they emit fewer greenhouse gases. The Airbus 350, for example, uses 25 per cent less fuel than previous generations of the plane, and a Boeing 787-9 with 304 passengers on board achieves a fuel efficiency of 2.31 litres per 100 kilometres per passenger, making it 20 per cent more efficient than the Boeing 767.
The upshot: airlines with newer fleets tend to boast lower emissions. Local flyer Air Canada improved its fuel efficiency by 40 per cent between 1990 and 2016 by upgrading its fleet. Check out SeatGuru.com to find out which aircraft specific airlines fly.
Buy carbon offsets. Buying carbon offset credits – offered by most airlines – is still the best way to reduce your carbon footprint when travelling. Here’s how it works: When you buy a plane ticket, an offset calculator tallies the amount of carbon your individual journey will create and assigns a cost value to remove an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Carbon offset projects sometimes include protecting forests, increasing energy efficiency or developing renewable energy sources.
As travel industry publication Skift pointed out in a 2014 article, such programs aren’t terribly popular with consumers. Only about two per cent of international flights are offset and industry experts expect that number to remain flat.
But carbon offset credits don’t cost the Earth. In general, they’re less expensive than buying a seat upgrade. WestJet and its carbon offset partner CarbonZero, for example, charge $15.66 to offset a return Toronto to Vancouver flight.
Pack light. Not only will toting a lightweight carry-on save time and arm strength (as you struggle to hoist it into the overhead bin), it will reduce emissions. Every extra gram of weight increases your flight’s fuel burn and the amount of CO2 emitted.
Fly a no-frills provider. When researchers at Stockholm’s Royal Institute of Technology compared aircraft models, GHG emissions and passenger numbers, they concluded low-cost airlines are often greener. Why? They tend to pack their planes to the brim with travellers and levy extra charges for checked baggage.
Nix the layover. Taking a non-stop flight is better for the environment – particularly for shorter trips, says the UCS. A stopover can increase emissions by up to 35 per cent per person for the simple reason that take-offs and landings burn more fuel.
Camilla Cornell is a business writer and intrepid traveller, who nonetheless appreciates a little comfort when away from home.