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Most airlines now offer passengers the option to offset their share of the flight's carbon emissions with carbon credits. Air New Zealand's scheme is called "Fly Neutral".
Photo: AFP
A one way trip between Auckland and Wellington creates 62 kilograms of CO2 for one passenger, and the airline says for $1.50, that can be offset by buying carbon credits from "global sustainable energy projects" and contributing to restoration of biodiversity here. But how does this work?
And does ticking the box really neutralise the impact of air travel? University of Otago professor James Higham is a sustainable tourism expert who has published several papers on aviation and climate change.
We invited Air New Zealand to join the conversation this morning, but no one was available.
However Air New Zealand told us that 7 per cent of customers opted in to its FlyNeutral scheme last year, offsetting over 40,000 tonnes of CO₂-e.
The airlines says it buys carbon credits from certified international projects that comply with international best practice, as well as partnering with Trees That Count, a conservation charity planting native trees across the country. To date from FlyNeutral has funded over 105,000 trees.
Air NZ says offsetting is only a small player in its work to reach our net zero by 2050 goal.
It is also focussed on Sustainable Aviation Fuel, Zero Emissions Aircraft Technology, Operational Efficiency and continued fleet renewal.
It says it has a partnership with MBIE to scope the feasibility of a Sustainable Aviation Fuel plant in NZ and a memorandum of understanding with Airbus and ATR to further research Zero Emissions Aircraft technology.