Will you pay more to travel green?

November 14th, 2007

As of today, Eurostar started offering carbon neutral journeys. ‘Carbon neutral’ is a phrase we read a lot about and - without wishing to teach the eco warriors amongst you to suck organic eggs - in simple terms it means reducing and offsetting the total calculated CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions you cause. In the case of Eurostar they are doing this by buying ‘carbon credits’ in specially chosen projects that will reduce an equivalent amount of CO2 to the amount created giving a net balance of zero.

Now, not only is it good for the planet, it is also a very potent marketing message to give to customers - “take a green train, rather than a damaging flight” - and one that they make good capital of on their website, pointing out that travelling by Eurostar to their ‘core destinations’ (Paris, Brussels) emits ten times less CO2 than flying.

It’s a persuasive message - and for short-haul trips it might be an easy choice to make especially if the fares are good, the journey more convenient not to mention global warming concerns. If however. you are planning a long-haul flight this winter to some warmer clime, getting a train may not be an option, and the airline you book with may not offer a carbon offsetting programme.

So, what to do? Well, one thing to do could be to take care of your own ‘carbon footprint’ yourself. and one place you can do this is via the Carbon Neutral website. Amongst its many offerings are Carbon Flights where you can quickly and easily choose to support a project that is helping to reduce carbon dioxide levels. The cost of this, from around £4 for a short-haul flight to around £50 for a long-haul flight.

Offsetting before you go off-jetting is a great way to reduce the environmental damage but leaving it to us individuals may not see many people taking the initiative and paying up. That Eurostar have taken the lead and done the job for each passenger - and without ostensibly increasing prices - is to be commended.

We’ll update future posts with other green travel news - but please do let us know your views on this subject.

Entry Filed under: green issues, holidays, travel