How many flights a year do you take?
Polls
17th January 2020
SOMETHING called carbon offsetting has been in the news a fair bit lately, as celebs and members of the royal family have defended their frequent air travel by saying their flights have been offset. But what does that mean, what do carbon offsetting schemes involve and why do so many people say they’re a bad idea? And if they are so bad, what can we do instead that’s better for the planet?
To make up for environmental damage caused by harmful activities such as flying, people can pay some money to offset things like their flight’s emissions. The idea is that you pay into a scheme that removes CO2 from the air, such as by planting trees or providing new stoves to people in developing countries so that they can cook with cleaner fuel instead of chopping trees down for firewood.
“In most cases, carbon offsetting just doesn’t work,” says Mike Childs, head of science at Friends of the Earth. “Some offsetting projects are also used by companies such as oil drillers who want to pretend they’re doing good things, but are continuing to extract fossil fuels and cause huge damage to the planet. Think of it like this: offsetting is like trying to look after your teeth by paying someone else not to eat sweets.”
Dr Lucie Middlemiss, an associate professor in sustainability at the University of Leeds School of Earth and Environment, agrees. “It’s kind of an economic fudge to make out that we’re solving something when actually it’s not really changing anything,” she told us. “It suggests we can carry on doing what we’re doing and just pay to clean up after ourselves. But there’s also a really big justice issue because the people who can afford it get to carry on while everybody else just has to change, which reinforces inequality.”
It’s also not very easy to work out if an offsetting scheme works. Your cash might go towards planting trees, but then what? “The forest might be burned, accidentally or on purpose, releasing all of the carbon at once,” says Areeba Hamid, a climate campaigner for Greenpeace UK. “Or it might be turned into paper, or furniture, or various other things, each of which would release its carbon at a different speed. When we plant it we don’t really know what will happen to it, or when.” “Since offsetting is voluntary, it won’t work,” adds Middlemiss, “because lots of people won’t choose to do it. But also it suggests that it’s the responsibility of the individual, when it’s really a society-wide problem that governments can do something about.”
The bad news for anyone who likes foreign holidays is that most people say the best thing you can do is to simply not fly. WWF told us that they see carbon offsetting as “the last step” and that you should first try to avoid or reduce harmful activities like flying and driving.
30 Comments
delealli · 5 years ago
I have never been on a plane before in my life!
asbml · 5 years ago
I usually fly 3 times but the last 3 yrs only 2 times so I don't know what to put down😞🤔😕😅😔
trainman12 · 5 years ago
***First one to comment***
trainman12 · 5 years ago
I think we should all take less than 4 a year, as our planet is dying, and we must save it.
ameliau · 5 years ago
i barely goon a airoplane. #first to comment
guest_360 · 5 years ago
1st to comment
guest_360 · 5 years ago
Well, having 6 brothers, and not even a teen yet, we find it kinda hard to book flights as a family
anju-fnews · 5 years ago
I don't travel abroad and plane are also harmful for the environment as they release toxic gases. This also pollutes the air we breathe.
panu · 5 years ago
I have been on a plane since i was a baby, so 12 years. 12 times I've been on the plane. NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
I have severe ear damge!!!
bamboomilk · 5 years ago
I only take 2 to 4 flights a year depending if I go on 1 or 2 holidays a year. I usually only go on 1 though. I have a friend who's parents travel a LOT. Altogether I think their family take more than 30 flights a year.
remi27 · 5 years ago
I like going on planes but when we go abroad we generally go on a ferry if possible. I prefer going on ferries
latte06 · 5 years ago
I only go by plane if i HAVE to.
narwhals · 5 years ago
The're so bad for the environment
dontaskme · 5 years ago
I am terrified of flying and also I want to help thenvironment
lindawalla · 5 years ago
I don't usually fly that much each year and usually not that far either but this year I'm going to Australia woo hoo!
avinash.e · 5 years ago
Wow I didn’t know so many people fly 6+ times a year
kinsparke9 · 5 years ago
I don't agree with carbon offsetting. It is an excuse for business as usual and I think "offsetting is like trying to look after your teeth by paying someone else not to eat sweets” is a very good analogy to describe it. It's basically means forcing developing countries to not build vital infrastructure such as hospitals and schools, whilst fossil fuels companies continue to make (short-term) profit from trashing the planet (no pun intended). It is an exploitative system which will benefit nobody in the long term. I think the line "try counting your money whilst holding your breath" sums this up pretty well.
redtoad · 5 years ago
2-4
ocean32 · 5 years ago
000000000000000000000000000000000000. I have never been on a plane before. Plus, going on a plane is not environmentally friendly. As I am ten, my friends are like absolute bewildered that I have never been on one before. I hate planes anyway. 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽🙏🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽🙏🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽Soz you prob just got bored
redrubyguy · 5 years ago
More than six. I live in Malaysia, so I fly back home to England as elsewhere during holidays all the time.
sloth-love · 5 years ago
I have never ,in my hole life, been on an aeroplane!
Eleni7 · 5 years ago
I went to Australia for my 6th birthday, I go to France every year and that’s the same for Cyprus too!😎😎😎😎
dingbat202 · 5 years ago
not in lockdown though!
katkid10 · 5 years ago
I have never been on a plane or anything in the sky in my whole life.
rainbow8 · 5 years ago
I go on a plane once a year, occasionly twice
seadra567 · 4 years ago
Apparently my birthmark means that i am a traveller. Which is entirely true, because my family goes on a flight at least 3 or 4 times a year. but on a really special occasion, like a birthday, we go one more time, which makes a grand total of five.
emilynight · 4 years ago
3-4 it’s fun 🤩 I’ve been since I was little
panda89 · 4 years ago
usually 2 or 3 but more often 2 so i put 1 or 2. HoW COULD U HAVE MORE THAN 6 ARE U A POPSTAR
luigi55 · 4 years ago
0 1 or 2
weirdcat · 4 years ago
Usually 2 times a year, but only once in lockdown.