Avoiding a flight entirely or consciously reducing emissions is worthwhile! In this way, a lot of harmful pollutants can be avoided through sustainable travel planning. More conscious travel is the greatest opportunity for more sustainable action! And since it is unfortunately not yet possible to fly completely without environmental pollution, the remaining emissions should be compensated by supporting certified environmental projects. And that’s exactly why Fly.green has created a simple solution.
Effects of air travel
Anyone who deals with sustainability and the climate crisis is probably already aware that flying is a burden for the environment and our climate. After all, air traffic is responsible for around 2.8% of all CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels (figures from 2016). (https://www.klimaschutz-portal.aero/klimakiller-nr-1/; 01/23/2021)
What does it mean if you now try to live sustainably and make changes in all areas of your life and want to act more ecologically and responsibly? Can you still fly on vacation or to a business meeting? Do I have to do without air travel completely?
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Is renunciation the solution?
It is precisely for this reason that very consistent people say they do not believe in flying and refrain from it altogether. We and the environment are happy about everyone who does this and who can and wants to do without flying completely!
“But”: Why did you fly in the past? In our experience it is e.g. family visits or visits from friends, of course some vacations, business trips or longer stays abroad during study periods or after graduation, which are very enriching and valuable.
And while it might be with a heavy heart that I would manage to forego a flight for vacation reasons, at the latest when visiting family, my determination to be more sustainable would be defeated and I would rather visit my grandparents and parents.
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For us at Fly.green: we don’t stand for perfection. For us there are easy to understand and good reasons to take a trip by plane. Therefore we try to support you to make your trip even more sustainable! There are many hotels, tour operators and tour operators on site who deal intensively with the topic of sustainability, reduce emissions, take social sustainability into account, and so on.
But how should I make my flight more sustainable? Not possible do you think? That is not true! Conscious travel is the greatest opportunity for more sustainable action!
There are three principles of sustainability that you can also apply to flights:
Avoid, reduce and compensate!
Avoid
One thing must be clear beforehand: a flight that does not take place is currently better for the world and our climate than any flight we take. There is no way around it (yet). At this point we don’t want to cover up or talk nicely!
If there is the possibility to switch to the train and local public transport, this is definitely preferable from an environmental point of view! But sometimes that doesn’t work – you can’t go to Mexico, the USA or Bali by train!
Reduce
But you shouldn’t underestimate how different the CO2 emissions are from different flights! Depending on the type of aircraft, the duration of the flight, the altitude and the occupancy of the aircraft as well as many other factors, the CO2 emissions can differ enormously! On Fly.green we will not only show you the shortest and cheapest flight when you are looking for a flight, but also the most environmentally friendly one! How is that you ask yourself?
Fly.green is a unique flight search engine, but basically works like all search engines you know:
We will show you all possible flight connections between the locations of your choice on your desired date. But in addition to the duration and price, we also show the ecological footprint in the form of the calculated CO2 emissions. For example, our “best offer” consists of flights with the lowest emissions (50%), the flight time (30%) and the price (20%).
Then you can choose what importance you want to attach to the CO2 emissions and choose the option that is best for you. That could be the flight with the lowest emissions, but maybe also the cheapest one with still comparably low CO2 emissions. The choice is yours! Well, almost at least ???? flights that have an above-average impact on the environment cannot be booked with us. At this point we are consistent and say – we do not support an above-average harmful flight!
This is how you significantly reduce the CO2 footprint that is created by your flight!
You don’t believe it?
An example:
A flight from Berlin to Denpasar on Bali (return flight on November 1 and 22, 2021) causes an average of around 5,024 kg of CO2. That’s a lot, of course! But if you compare with us, you can see that there is also a travel option with 2,752kg CO2 – a whole 45% less CO2 emissions! And that is really not insignificant on this long route! And vice versa, there is a travel option that would cause an insane 7,915kg of CO2 – 58% more CO2 than the average flight! Without comparing, you might have chosen this flight for price reasons or because of the time!
Since these numbers are difficult to imagine, a comparison: The 1,476kg of CO2 that you only save compared to the average with the more environmentally friendly variant, roughly equivalent to the amount of CO2 that you emit on a 12,983km drive! 12,983km! That is more than an entire crossing of Russia by car (that would be 9,000km)!
As you can see, a flight comparison is really worth it, because you might take the flight, but there are still huge differences between the various options!
Compensate
After booking your flight, we recommend that you at least offset the resulting CO2 emissions. We will forward you directly to our partner atmosfair, who also provides us with the CO2 data for all flights. There you can reliably offset your CO2 emissions and certified according to the gold standard. As long as flights are not yet CO2-neutral, we believe that offsetting is the best way to achieve CO2-neutrality.
You can find out more about when CO2 compensation makes sense here, if you are interested in the topic.
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But that’s not 100% sustainable ?!
That’s true! But what would the alternative be? Stop flying completely? Unrealistic! We must quickly ensure that the industry develops the technical solutions for emission-free flying. Until then we have to try to reduce our emissions. Also to set an example that we travelers do not accept a simple “business as usual” of the aviation industry. And that is exactly where Fly.green supports you.
We should also bear in mind that it is by no means exclusively about holidays and party weekends: Many products and groceries are produced abroad and transported to us by plane. We would also have to stop consuming these products and foods.
We think this is utopian and will not happen. And for a really significant effect on the climate, flying would not have to be completely stopped in order to have a positive effect. Covid-19 has shown us what a reduction in flights is already having a noticeable effect on the climate around the world. We also believe that there will be technological developments that will make flying more environmentally friendly!
Decide for yourself
In the end, each and every one of us is of course free to decide whether he or she wants to fly and for what reason. It is important to us not to make a general judgment here. From our point of view, however, sustainability will no longer be imaginable, it will become more and more important.
And we want to do our part to ensure that consumers: Inside – you and me – can make an informed and qualified choice. If we know the costs (including environmental costs) of our flight, we can choose whether to fly and which flight to choose. We should consciously consider whether it has to be a flight within Germany or Europe and whether a short weekend trip or business trip really has to be by plane. The decision against it will certainly have to be made more frequently in the future. But from our point of view there will still be flights and we should then choose them consciously. However, we can only do this after taking into account all the relevant information and then making the right decision for us.
How do you choose?
Remember, conscious travel is the greatest opportunity for more sustainable action!
To fly or not to fly? What are good reasons for you for or against flying?
