How Air Travel Impacts the Climate (& What We Can Do About It)

(Un)Fun Fact: Carbon Emissions from Plane Travel Are Contributing to the Climate Crisis

Did you know that driving, flying, and other travel-related activities consume energy and produce carbon emissions that are harmful to the environment? In 2019 alone, commercial flights produced 920 million tons of carbon dioxide. In fact, experts at the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) say commercial air travel and large business jets currently account for 3% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

For those of us who have been out of school for a while, here’s a quick refresher: greenhouse gases are gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. As the primary greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide is responsible for about 65% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, CO2 can linger in our atmosphere for thousands of years.

So, how does this impact our environment and health? Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide contribute to severe changes in global weather patterns by trapping heat and causing extreme weather, such as deadly heatwaves and droughts, intense flooding, record-breaking hurricanes, and more frequent and destructive wildfires. Other severe impacts to the climate include rising sea levels, warming oceans, and smog and air pollution.

These types of events can lead to injury and illness (such as respiratory and cardiovascular disease and injury or death related to extreme weather events), displacement of human and animal populations, property and infrastructure damage, food supply disruptions, and more.

More Bad News: Carbon Dioxide Emissions Are Expected to Triple by 2050

Planes are becoming more efficient with every new design, but the increasing demand for flights is outpacing these advancements.

According to the climate policy experts at Carbon Brief, “Airlines estimate that air travel will grow by an average of just under 5% per year up to 2034 – and the emissions from these extra air miles will be difficult to decarbonize.”

If unmitigated, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute anticipates that commercial aircraft emissions could triple by 2050. Even more alarming: the Global Carbon Project estimates that the remaining carbon budget for 1.5C (the amount of CO2 that can still be emitted for a 50% chance of staying below 1.5C of warming) will be blown in just nine years – or even sooner.

How You Can Be a More Eco-Friendly Traveler

Compensate for Your Carbon Footprint Through Carbon Offsetting

Have you heard of carbon offsetting? Basically, it works like this: When you buy a carbon offset, you purchase a commitment from an organization to fund an equivalent reduction or removal of carbon dioxide elsewhere. This allows you to essentially “cancel out” the negative impact on your travel in other parts of the world.

There are carbon offset programs that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and projects that aim to prevent greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere in the first place. Some carbon offset examples include planting trees, using more efficient vehicles for transportation, insulating buildings to reduce heat loss, and replacing coal-fueled power plants with renewable energy sources such as wind and solar farms.

Essentially, carbon offsetting allows you to balance your carbon emissions by paying to save emissions elsewhere.

We’re Making It Easy to Neutralize Your Carbon Emissions

We know climate change can be scary and carbon offsetting can seem complicated. That’s why we’ve partnered with Patch to make it easy for you to cancel out your carbon emissions.

Patch is a platform that powers climate action by allowing you to easily purchase carbon offsets that neutralize the environmental impact of your air travel. In just a few clicks, you can help fund one of the world’s best carbon offset programs – like Rimba Raya's forest protection project in Brazil – to compensate for the emissions from your upcoming trip. All carbon credits are vetted by Patch to ensure your carbon neutrality.