Page 66 - TNE WORKBOOK

Stop flying overseas, or, if you
do, offset the full carbon cost
of your flights

• If you book your flights online, make sure you select the ‘offset my flights’ button. For a typical domestic
flight this usually only costs you about $2 or $3. Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Blue all have carbon offset
add-ons you can pick when you fly. That said, this is super cheap for carbon offsetting - and it’s unclear
what system these airlines are using to offset your flights.

• If you want to go the whole shebang and be 100% sure that your flights are fully offset, then you can
spend a bit more money on local carbon offsets through the government’s carbon farming initiative.
This great site allows you to purchase offsets for your flights that meet both the Gold Standard and the
Verified Carbon Standard for offsets. This means the carbon that is saved is permanent, and would not
have been saved otherwise, but for the offset that you have purchased.

• A typical long haul overseas flight will put you back by about $120, but for a short domestic flight, say
from Sydney to Melbourne, you’re looking at $9 per flight. Think of it as a donation to the environment. For
example, one of the projects supported by this scheme is protecting Tasmania’s old-growth native forests
and providing an economic alternative to logging. Plus the offsets are all located in our region, so you’re
also not shifting the burden of carbon emission reductions onto those developing countries with very low
per capita emissions. Pretty cool right?

Take a staycation, that
is, holiday locally,
instead of far away

• Air travel is probably the one area where it’s really hard to make a dent in your emissions. We’re a long way
off having commercially-available jet fuel, like biodiesel, that is less carbon-intensive. Plus, one flight a year
can completely blow your carbon budget, which can be depressing and demotivating. Your best bet is to
get into the habit of offsetting your flights (and building this into your travel budget), using services like
the one linked above, and also to try to reduce your air travel wherever possible.

• Australia is a massive and beautiful country with so much to discover. If you’re planning a vacation, why
not look at options slightly closer to home? Here’s an article on the benefits of a staycation and another
on domestic travel in Australia.

In your group, have a brief chat about the action/s above that you’re each committing to over the next month,
then write these down, in the table below, using language that firmly commits you to your desired change
and states when and where you’ll carry out this action (studies show that this makes it more likely you’ll
successfully carry out the action)

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