Greenpeace calls on airlines to follow easyJet in ditching offsetting schemes

Greenpeace has urged some of the world’s largest airlines to ditch carbon offsetting after easyJet excluded these schemes from its new net-zero strategy.

The move follows a major investigation by Unearthed and the Guardian that raised serious doubts over the real impact of forest protection schemes used by airlines including easyJet to offset their emissions. The investigation found no evidence that the schemes used to justify bold claims about carbon neutrality have produced enough carbon savings to back them up.

Greenpeace is calling on airlines to abandon offsetting and focus instead on effective measures to cut emissions, including supporting demand-management tools like a frequent flyer levy and driving investment in new technologies.

Greenpeace UK’s chief scientist Dr Doug Parr said:

“This a steep turn for easyJet and a huge blow for the offsetting industry. In just a couple of years, easyJet has gone from proudly boasting about its ‘carbon-neutral’ flights to ditching offsetting altogether. Investigative journalism has played a key role in exposing these schemes’ many flaws and debunking their exaggerated claims. Once the truth is exposed, offsetting loses its greenwashing magic and stands revealed for what it really is – an alibi to allow big carbon polluters to carry on polluting. easyJet’s net-zero plan is very far from perfect but at least it does away with the deception of offsetting. We urge other airlines to do the same.”