Flying and climate...

… is a problem, everybody knows that. The production of CO2 (carbondioxide) per passenger and flight mile is immense. And although the Earth’s climate system is very complicated, it is now widely accepted amongst relevant scientiststs and in the public that human CO2 production contributes to climate change with all its unpleasant side effects (I could certainly use stronger wording here!) such as floods, extreme weather situations such as hurricanes, heat and draught, woodfire and so on. This will have tremenduous negative effects on socio-economic systems in most countries of the world, no doubt. It will at some stage, not so very far in the future, include you own country and affect, directly or indirectly, your friends, your family, yourself.

Example:

London Gatwick – Ushuaia (where trips to Antarctica usually start): 26,742km (return flight), CO₂-Emission: more than 5000 kg
New York – Ushuaia: 21,248km (return flight), CO₂-Emission: about 4000 kg.
London Gatwick-Longyearbyen (Spitsbergen): 6150 km (return flight)), CO₂-Emission: more than 1600 kg.

All flight passengers contribute strongly to the problem, no doubt about it. But you can do something about it. Support environmental projects which are designed to reduce CO2 production directly. If you fly long distance to visit the Arctic or Antarctica and you are interested in the conservation of these otherworldly beautiful, but vulnerable and globally very important ecosystems, then there is hardly any way around it, if you think about it. Don’t you agree …?

Projects:

Climate friendly, also recommended by the WWF.
MyClimate, based in Zurich.
Atmosfair.

I gurantee that I participate to fully cover the CO2-emissions for all my flights.

Certificate for the Antarctic season 2012-13:
Zertifikat Dresden-Ushuaia (Argentina)/Invercargill (New Zealand)-Dresden

Certificate for the Arctic season 2010.
Certificate for the flight connected to the expedition to Newtontoppen/Spitsbergen, April/May 2010.
Current certificate for the Antarctic season 2009-10.

And, of course, it would also be an idea to think about energy consumption at home, regarding air-conditioners, traffic, …