If time is short or you are travelling a long distance, a cheap flight is the quickest and most cost-effective way to reach your destination. With train fares to Europe clocking in at treble figures or a boat journey to Australia taking longer than you can book off work, a flight to Rome for £30 or Sydney for £500 can't be argued with. If you're worried about the environmental consequences of flying, there are many schemes to help you offset your carbon emissions and cancel out the damage made by the flight. Here are some ways to leave a lighter footprint on the planet:
atmosfair is a German site that finances Kyoto Protocol-certified renewable energy projects in developing countries. Use the emissions calculator to find out how damaging your flight has been and make a donation for that flight (or for flights bought in the previous year). The money is invested in projects that are monitored by UN-accredited technical organisations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the amount created by your flight.
On the CarbonNeutral Company site you can calculate your CO2 emissions, learn how to reduce them and buy products and gifts that contribute to projects which soak up or compensate for unavoidable emissions such as tree planting and green energy in developing countries.
Contribute to Climate Care, a website that has a calculator that will tell you how much CO2 your trip will create and how much your company should contribute to one of its projects to make the trip climate neutral. Projects include funding low-energy light bulbs in Africa, replanting rainforests, and funding projects which remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
Tourism Concern is a UK-based charity, set up in the late 1980s, that serves as a good starting point if you want to learn more about ethical and fair tourism at home and abroad. Annual membership costs from £24. The organisation publishes The Good Alternative Travel Guide, which features holiday companies that support community-based and sustainable tourism.
Friends of Conservation works on projects with indigenous people around the world, helping them protect their local wildlife and habitats. It has a membership of around 40 UK tour operators that have a particular interest in conservation.
Oonagh Shiel
© Cheapflights Ltd
Updated April 2009
