New Carbon for Conservation scheme launched - offset your flight emissions

Norfolk based conservation charity Explorers Against Extinction has launched an online carbon calculator tool offering a way for people taking flights to offset their carbon footprint by contributing to vital tree planting and habitat protection programmes around the world.

The online tool,  which can be found on their website,  is simple, fast and easy to use – calculations are based on average values based on the carbon tonnage produced from mileage flown.

For example, a family of four travelling in economy class to Greece can offset their carbon emissions for £24 while a solo business traveller going to Singapore in business class can offset for £44 roundtrip.

100% of funds raised by the new Carbon for Conservation scheme go to support nominated projects which include tree planting in Kenya and a forest protection and restoration programme in Lamandau Wildlife Reserve and Tanjung Puting National Park, home to the largest population of orangutans in Borneo (over 4,000).

Forests play a vital part in mitigating climate change. On average, one acre of tropical forest in Indonesia stores 326 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2e). This is the equivalent amount of CO2 produced by 69 vehicles being driven for a year.

Trustee Sara White said: “We’re losing an area of forest the size of the UK every year due to human activity including agriculture and mining, and natural disasters such as forest fires. Trees are essential to stabilising our climate and sustaining biodiversity. They not only improve air quality by absorbing and storing CO2 and releasing oxygen, they also conserve water, help to fight soil erosion and support wildlife. By offsetting you can make a positive impact. You can help to protect forests and create new habitats essential for threatened species.”

Carbon for Conservation is just one initiative run by the charity which aims to raise awareness about threats to wildlife and wild spaces while also raising funds to safeguard them.