British Airways Offers Customers the Option of Carbon Removals to Address Their Travel Footprint
by Christopher Surgenor (GreenAir Online) Following the recent launch of British Airways’ CO2llaborate online platform that enables customers to address the carbon footprint of their flights through the purchase of carbon offsets and/or sustainable aviation fuel, a new third option has been provided in the form of carbon removals. Whereas traditional carbon offsets are created when a project avoids, reduces or removes additional CO2 emissions from the atmosphere, carbon removal credits are issued by nature, biomass or technology based projects that remove CO2 from the atmosphere or from the carbon cycle. The platform offers customers a choice of a combination of carbon offsetting and SAF or carbon removals and SAF, with a slider for each option to select the preferred amount of SAF. Two independently certified carbon removal projects are being supported, one restoring a mangrove forest in the Indus Delta area of Pakistan and the other a biochar project in Oregon, USA. More projects are expected to be added over time, said the airline.
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The cost of choosing carbon removal on BA’s CO2llaborate platform – a partnership with climate tech company Chooose – is therefore more expensive than the carbon offsetting option. As an example, a round-trip journey in economy class between London and New York results in CO2e emissions of just under 700kgs per passenger. The adjustable slider defaults to a preferred 10% use of SAF against a 90% use of carbon offsetting, or 90% carbon removals if this option is chosen. The former choice would carry a price of £20.17 ($24), the latter more than double at £44.91. Choosing carbon offsetting entirely would cost £7.66 compared to £33.35 if opting for 100% carbon removal. Customer contributions to the SAF option are supporting the purchase of renewable fuel through BA’s partnership with Phillips 66, which is added to the existing fuel pipeline at Heathrow Airport. READ MORE; includes VIDEO