Air Travel FAQs

What is Climate Change?

Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are generated from burning fossil fuels, industrial processes, and agricultural operations. The greenhouse gases are trapped within the atmosphere resulting in the gradual alteration of the earth’s climate. The earth’s climate and ecosystem are finely balanced, and a small change can have significant consequences.

When I fly, am I contributing to climate change?

Yes. Aircraft operations generate greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels. The emission of greenhouse gases increases the concentration of gases like CO₂ in the atmosphere. These additional gases are enhancing the greenhouse effect which is known as global warming. The effect of global warming is to increase global surface temperatures and ultimately cause climate change.

What is the overall effect of air travel on our climate?

Air travel accounts for approximately 2% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that by 2050, emissions from global air travel will account for 5% of the total human climate change impact.

Air travel causes the release of more than 600 million tonnes of the world's major greenhouse gas CO₂ into the atmosphere each year.

Am I offsetting emissions for the whole plane?

No. You are just paying your share. Greenhouse gas emissions per person are estimated by applying the average emissions factor per individual passenger kilometer.

Carbon Neutral Air Travel FAQs

What is offsetting?

Offsetting is balancing out emissions by avoiding the release of an equal amount of greenhouse gas somewhere else. The same quantity of emissions as those released by your flight is neutralized through one of the greenhouse gas reduction projects in the Green My Flight portfolio. This is done by your purchase of greenhouse gas air travel offset credits.


Green My Flight FAQs

What is the Green My Flight Program?

The Green My Flight Program sells CO₂e reductions and funds Gold Standard-certified projects that help tackle climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The reductions made by these projects balance clients' emissions, making clients' activities climate neutral.

What is CO₂e?

CO₂e, or “carbon dioxide equivalent,” is a unit of measurement that is used to relate different greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, CFC-12, HCFC-22, sulfur hexafluoride) and their warming potentials to that of CO₂.

Where does my money go?

Revenues are spent on purchasing offset credits from projects that meet the criteria set out by the Gold Standard.

About the Gold Standard

What types of projects qualify for the Green My Flight Program?

Gold Standard-certified projects qualify for the Green My Flight Program.

What is the Gold Standard?

The Gold Standard is a non-profit foundation, based in Basel, Switzerland. This foundation believes that the only real way to solve the climate problem is to change how energy is used and how much of it is consumed. The Gold Standard certification system was created to help ensure that carbon markets, along with finance, work toward a long term climate solution and stimulate sustainable development. Since fossil fuels are responsible for over 60% of man-made greenhouse gas emissions, Gold Standard projects exclusively focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency projects that reduce emissions at the source.

What is a Gold Standard-certified project?

A Gold Standard-certified project achieves GHG emission reductions through the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies while supporting sustainable development for the local community. All Gold Standard projects are rigorously tested for environmental quality by registered third parties who are deemed a Designated Operational Entity (DOE) by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

What is a Designated Operational Entity?

A Designated Operational Entity is a third-party agency that validates a project’s results as real and measurable and ensures that long-term emission reductions have taken place.

What is sustainable development?

Sustainable development projects are those that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

What is the Gold Standard Methodology?

The Gold Standard Methodology is part of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI) project cycle. It adds three special screens for quality control:

1. Does the project use renewable energy or energy efficiency technologies?
2. Does the project go above and beyond a “business as usual” scenario?
3. Does the project promote sustainable development?

What are the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI) programs?

CDM and JI are two of the three flexible mechanisms used to help countries achieve their emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol. For more information, please click here.

What does additionality mean?

Additionality is the industry term for going beyond “business as usual.” The emissions reductions achieved by a project must be further to what would have happened had the project not been carried out.

For more information on Gold Standard, click here.