FLIGHTS OF FANCY

A study by Öko-Institut for Carbon Market Watch finds that major European airlines rely on low-quality, cheap carbon offsets and lack transparency in reporting, often using misleading claims like 'carbon-neutral flying' to mask a lack of substantive emissions reductions.

• There is a significant lack of transparency regarding voluntary climate actions among the eight studied airlines; only EasyJet provided sufficient evidence, including numbers and project certificates, to allow for an independent assessment of its BVCM claims.
• Airlines predominantly use low-quality carbon credits, with every airline in the study having at least one forestry project of uncertain environmental integrity in its portfolio, including REDD+ projects that risk failing to store carbon permanently.
• The cost of carbon credits is significantly lower than the actual cost of reducing aviation emissions. Corporate purchase prices were as low as €4 per tonne for EasyJet and €8 for Air France, while customer prices ranged from €9 (Wizz Air) to €30 (Air France).
• Five of the eight airlines analyzed ignore the warming effects of non-CO2 emissions, such as nitrogen oxides and water vapour, which can be up to three times more impactful than carbon dioxide. Only Wizz Air, EasyJet, and British Airways accounted for these by using CO2 equivalent (CO2e) metrics.
• Some airlines use misleading marketing, such as promoting 'carbon-neutral flying' (specifically Lufthansa and British Airways), which the report argues encourages air travel growth rather than the necessary reduction in flights.
• The option for customers to support Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) is criticized for lacking additionality, as airlines will soon be legally required to use 5% SAF by 2030 regardless of customer contributions.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (2022). FLIGHTS OF FANCY. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/aviation-report-layout-final.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. FLIGHTS OF FANCY. 2022. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/aviation-report-layout-final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=FLIGHTS OF FANCY |date=October 2022 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/aviation-report-layout-final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carbonmarketwatch2022flights, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{FLIGHTS OF FANCY}}, institution = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2022}, month = oct, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/aviation-report-layout-final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }