Consumers remain unconvinced about voluntary carbon offsets, with aviation figures admitting they don’t reduce emissions.
Skyscanner chief product officer Piero Sierra noted “it’s difficult” to engage consumers on offsetting, saying: “We get higher numbers offsetting than we expected at about 5%. But there is a big gap between customers’ ethics and their actions.
“The stumbling-blocks are price and the efficacy of the solutions. It risks sounding like greenwashing.”
IAG head of sustainability Jonathon Counsell told the Capa summit: “There is no harmonised approach [to carbon calculations] and that undermines confidence.”
However, he noted Iata is poised to launch a carbon calculator, and also held out hope that global carbon offset scheme Corsia could make a difference.
But he insisted: “We won’t solve climate change by offering voluntary carbon offsets.”