To mitigate climate change, CO2 emissions need to be reduced and offset. Run through our compact CO2 calculator and we’ll tell you how many trees it takes to offset your emissions based on key sectors.
Compensate for your flights
No other way of travelling seems more comfortable, faster and cheaper. However, it is now also known that air traffic is a driver of climate change and, in addition to CO2, also emits nitrogen oxides and water vapour in high layers of air, which in turn have a heat-absorbing effect and additionally heat up the atmosphere. However, completely avoiding air travel is unlikely to be an option for the vast majority of people. But we could at least adapt our flying behavior to the scientific findings, for example by avoiding short flights and switching to other less climate-unfriendly means of transport such as rail.
If we look at long-distance air travel, it must be noted that it can hardly be replaced by other means of transportation. But who can afford to do without it? The motto here is “less is more”. A long-distance trip should remain something special and the behavior at these places of longing can also justify the emissions to a certain extent. Keyword “gentle ecotourism”. Whether consciously or unconsciously, those who take this type of vacation are simultaneously protecting the environment and, in most cases, the climate. Visiting nature reserves, national parks or private protected areas gives local people reasons to leave nature in its natural state and protect it. The absence of these ecotourists would have fatal consequences. Other forms of economic use could be considered. As the coronavirus pandemic recently proved. Logging, pasture farming, the establishment of monocultures and the search for mineral resources increased noticeably. Our journey therefore protects these ecosystems and preserves nature from economic exploitation. Anyone who also offsets the CO2 emissions of their flight can talk about their animal encounters on the other side of the world with an “almost clear conscience”.
The greenhouse gas CO2 – our big challenge
Carbon dioxide, or CO2, is a natural component of our air and one of the greenhouse gases that occur in our atmosphere. Through the burning of fossil fuels and the associated excessive emission of CO2, humans are making a significant contribution to global warming.
Trees bind large quantities of carbon dioxide by absorbing it from the atmosphere and processing it into glucose (sugar) through photosynthesis, i.e. with the help of the energy of light. The vital oxygen we need to breathe is produced as a waste product of photosynthesis.
Trees bind different amounts of CO2 depending on their species, location, age and other factors. The amount of carbon sequestered by a tree can therefore only be roughly estimated. Based on our knowledge of the trees we have planted, we calculate a value of 400 kilograms that a tree will bind in its maximum expected lifetime. This in turn means that the trees need their entire lives to achieve your annual, individual compensation target. So if you are serious, you should use this calculator every year. Even better, we start cutting emissions from the outset.
The research reports of the following institutions were used as the basis for the CO2 calculation:
- Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety
- Federal Environment Agency
- Federal Ministry of Economics and Labor