Our stance on carbon offsetting: A distracting justification

Responsible Travel was one of the first travel companies to offer people the option of offsetting the carbon emissions of their holidays – but a few years later became one of the first to stop doing this, for environmental reasons.

Justin Francis, founder and chair of Responsible Travel, said: “We put a lot of thought into how we can offer our customers the reliable advice they expect from a responsible tourism business, when it comes to the fast growing impact of flying on the environment.

“We believe that the travel industry’s priority must be to reduce carbon emissions, rather than to offset. Too often offsets are used by the tourism industry in developed countries to justify growth plans on the basis that money will be donated to often-spurious projects in developing countries. Global reduction targets will not be met this way.”

Francis continues, “Carbon offsets distract tourists from the need to reduce their emissions. They create a 'medieval pardon' for us to carry on behaving in the same way (or worse).”


Francis summarises Responsible Travel’s advice: “Ultimately we need to reduce our carbon emissions. We can do this by flying less – travelling by train or taking holidays closer to home for example, and by making carbon reductions in other areas of our lifestyles too, alongside travel.

“Of course tourists will continue to want to visit destinations requiring a flight, and tourism contributes to livelihoods, local economic development and the conservation of the world's cultural and natural heritage. We will continue to offer a more responsible choice of overseas holiday so that when tourists do fly they can 'make their holiday count' by choosing a more responsible holiday.”

Responsible Travel aims to help travellers by offering:

• A wide choice of holidays that can be reached without a flight, such as by train or ferry.
• Numerous in-depth travel guides that provide insights into specific countries, regions, cultures and activities, including how to travel there responsibly and the best times to go.
• Thousands of holidays around the world that work towards reducing their carbon footprint within destinations as much as possible.