Carbon offsetting & air travel: Part 1: CO2-emissions  calculations

Anja Kollmuss

SEI working paper

Carbon offsetting & air travel: Part 1: CO2-emissions calculations

The paper examines the key factors that have to be taken into account when calculating air travel emissions for the purpose of carbon offsetting.

Anja Kollmuss / Published on 27 March 2009

Citation

Kollmuss, A.; Lane, J. (2008). Carbon offsetting & air travel: Part 1: CO2-emissions calculations. Kollmuss, A. and J. Lane (2008). Carbon offsetting & air travel: Part 1: CO2-emissions calculations. Stockholm: SEI.

This paper first gives a brief overview of three emissions calculators which were chosen because they are among the most comprehensive currently available:

Atmosfair

TRX Travel Analytics

Virgin Atlantic

The paper then examines the aircraft parameters that are needed to calculate emissions on a per person basis and describes how each of the three calculators accounts for these parameters. The parameters discussed are:

Aircraft Model
Flight Profile and Flight Distance
Cargo on Passenger Flights
Seat Occupancy Rate (Load Factor)
Seat Class

The final section of the paper analyzes emissions calculations for flights between three city pairs, and compares the results of the three emissions calculators to each other as well as to the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) multiplier for air travel emissions calculations.

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