 Climate change - carbon offsetting
British Airways was the first airline to introduce a voluntary passenger carbon offset scheme in 2005 and were also the first airline to achieve the UK Governments Quality of Assurance.
We strive to make it as easy as possible for you to offset the impact of your journey when buying a ticket with us on ba.com.
Contributions are automatically calculated based on the volume of carbon dioxide your flight produces and the cost of carbon per tonne at the time of your booking. Payments can be made safely and securely via credit or debit card, with the money raised going to help fund hydro-electric power plants and wind farms around the world.
These projects are certified Carbon Emission Reduction projects and as well as offsetting your carbon they also have health and social benefits. So by making a contribution you can have a positive effect on communities as well as balancing the emissions from your flight.
How does carbon offsetting work?
The money you pay to offset the emissions from your flight is used to buy carbon credits that are registered and verified through the United Nations Kyoto Protocol.
These carbon credits balance the effect of your emissions by funding renewable energy schemes, which are validated and audited by the United Nations to ensure they produce authentic benefits and are genuinely 'additional' activities that would not otherwise be undertaken.
For instance, should the carbon offset scheme not have supported these renewable energy projects the electricity they generate would have been produced in a manner that would have resulted in greenhouse gas emissions such as from a coal, oil of gas fired power station.
How is the carbon offset contribution calculated?
There are two key elements within the calculation of the carbon offset for your flights: - volume of carbon produced from your journey
- cost of carbon credits per tonne
The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced from your flight is calculated using factors published by the UK Government. These factors tell us how much CO2 is produced for each kilometre travelled per passenger.
To ensure the calculation matches your emissions as accurately as possible we also take into account the cabin you fly in since the more space you have on the aircraft the more your proportion of the flights combined emissions.
The cost of the Certified Emission Reduction credits, and hence the price of the offset, is based on the market price, which may change from time-to-time due to supply and demand and currency exchange rates.
Example:
London Heathrow to Bangkok in World Traveller
Distance = 9547km
Kg CO2 per passenger km = 0.089#
No of passengers = 1
Total CO2 = 0.85 Tonnes of CO2
Cost - £10.15*
London Heathrow to Barcelona in Club Europe
Distance = 1147km
Kg CO2 per passenger km = 0.153#
No of passengers = 2
Total CO2 = 0.18 Tonnes of CO2
Cost - £2.15*
Morgan Stanley, who are specialists in sourcing emission reductions, will use your offset contributions to fund a portfolio of projects.
#In accordance with the Government's Quality Assurance scheme this figures includes an additional 9% of the base Kg CO2 per passenger km figure to take into account indirect routings and possible delays.
*Prices may vary from those examples given depending on the market value of carbon and currency exchange rates.
Where does my money go?
Your money goes towards supporting projects in developing countries and typically focuses on providing new sources of renewable energy and in promoting energy-efficiency schemes. In addition to balancing your CO2, the projects we have chosen must also bring social and economic benefits to the communities in which they are based and often bring health benefits from improvements to local air quality.
Find out more about the Government's carbon offsetting Quality Assurance Scheme
British Airways became the first airline, and one of the first UK companies, to win Government approval for its carbon offset scheme in March 2009.
The scheme is administered by independent climate change and energy consultancy AEA on behalf of the UK Government. It aims to provide confidence and clarity to consumers to support them in identifying high quality carbon offsetting schemes.
To achieve approval British Airways has demonstrated the following criteria: - Accurate calculation of emissions to be offset – BA uses figures specified by the UK Government
- Use of good quality carbon credits i.e. those that are Kyoto compliant
- Clear and transparent pricing
- Cancellation of carbon credits within a year of the consumer’s purchase of the offset
- Provision of information about the role of offsetting in tackling climate change and advice on how a consumer can reduce his or her carbon footprint
To find out more about the scheme visit offsetting.defra.gov.uk
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