Scoping voluntary corporate climate action in the European aviation sector

The report evaluates the voluntary carbon offsetting practices of eight major European airlines, including easyJet, Ryanair, and Lufthansa. It finds that while some airlines like easyJet have high volumes of offsets, the overall quality of credits is often low due to a reliance on cheap forestry projects in developing countries. The study highlights a significant lack of transparency in reporting and warns that promoting 'carbon neutral' flying may encourage air traffic growth, contradicting the need for sector decarbonization through sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).

• The volume of carbon credits purchased is heavily dependent on the airline's offsetting model. easyJet is the most ambitious in volume because it "directly offsets all of the CO2e emissions associated from passenger flights on behalf of its customers automatically and at no additional cost". In contrast, airlines like Ryanair and Wizz Air, which rely on voluntary consumer action, see "considerably less" volume due to low uptake.
• Carbon credits used by European airlines are not a uniform product and often lack quality. Most airlines rely on "relatively cheap forestry projects in developing countries", including REDD+ projects, which the report notes are "associated with a high risk of non-permeance" and challenges in determining actual GHG reductions.
• There is a systemic lack of transparency regarding the reporting of BVCM approaches. easyJet was the only operator to provide "complete evidence of the retirement of their purchased carbon credits". For other airlines, certificates proving the retirement of credits were often not publicly available, which the report argues "undermines consumer confidence".
• The estimated price of carbon credits purchased by airlines is varied but remains "well below the cost of abatement in the aviation sector". For comparison, the cost of supporting alternative jet fuels is estimated by the ICCT to be between "4400/tCO2e to 4500/tCO2e".
• The use of voluntary offsets may create a false impression that it is possible to fly in a "'carbon neutral' manner", potentially increasing passenger traffic. The report argues this is "not compatible with the business models of the airline operators" and does not contribute to decarbonization via sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).
• Calculation methods for carbon obligations vary significantly between operators. Only Wizz Air "currently takes into account the impact of non-CO2 emissions at higher altitudes", while others use different assumptions for fuel burn, load factors, and cabin class splits.

APA

Healy, S. (2022). Scoping voluntary corporate climate action in the European aviation sector. Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Scoping-voluntary-corporate-climate-action-in-the-European-aviation-sector.pdf

Chicago

Healy, Sean. Scoping voluntary corporate climate action in the European aviation sector. Carbon Market Watch, 2022. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Scoping-voluntary-corporate-climate-action-in-the-European-aviation-sector.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Healy |first1=Sean |title=Scoping voluntary corporate climate action in the European aviation sector |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=10 October 2022 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Scoping-voluntary-corporate-climate-action-in-the-European-aviation-sector.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{healy2022scoping, author = {Healy, Sean}, title = {{Scoping voluntary corporate climate action in the European aviation sector}}, institution = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2022}, month = oct, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Scoping-voluntary-corporate-climate-action-in-the-European-aviation-sector.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }