Partners to protect the earth

Some people ask why they should compensate and the answer is simple: to clean up after yourself! When you decide to fly you pollute the air with greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane. The build-up of these gasses acts like a huge blanket around the earth trapping the heat and causing our atmosphere to warm up.

Since the beginning of the industrial revolution we’ve significantly increased the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere that has already caused a rapid rise in temperature in certain parts of the world. The charts below show the global atmospheric levels of CO2 over the past 1000 years and the resulting rise in average global surface temperature over the last 100 years:

CO2, the major contributor of global warming is naturally taken out of the atmosphere when plants grow and store CO2 in their tissue. This ‘sequestration’ capacity can be increased by planting new forests and making sure that these forests remain in place. This is exactly what GreenSeat and easyTahiti.com do in cooperation with the of their forestry partner the Face Foundation . In addition to the forestry projects, we also invest in renewable energy projects and energy efficiency projects. Our goal is to restore the CO2 balance in our atmosphere.

You can find more information about climate change in the pdf files below: The Climate Challenge (Carbon Trust, UK), Impacts of Europe’s Changing Climate (EEA, EU), Impacts of Europe’s Changing Climate presentation (EEA, EU), Kyoto Protocol

The Greenhouse effect
When an aircraft flies it burns fossil fuel and as a result CO2 (carbon dioxide) and other greenhouse gasses are released into the atmosphere. The build-up of these gasses acts like a huge blanket around the earth trapping the heat and causing our atmosphere to warm up.

Although this may at first sound like a nice prospect in actual fact changing climate patterns will have a huge impact on our world in the form of rising sea levels, an increasing number of weather disasters and changing flora and fauna.

The carbon cycle
CO2 is taken out of the atmosphere by plants & trees that grow and store the CO2 in their tissue in the form of carbon. A tree is actually a huge storage facility of carbon. On top of that trees also give us Oxygen (the O2) as a 'by-product' of this storage proces! Unfortunately the area of forest on our planet is getting smaller and smaller due to deforestation leaving less area to store CO2. At the same time the amount of CO2 realeased into our atmosphere is increasing every year as the earth’s population grows and countries use more energy as they develop.

Our clients for each of their reservation have the option of buying (for an amount approx. egal to 2 to 5% of the airline tickets cost) the compensation of their CO2 emissions. Calculation is based on the length of the trip, and is made by a GreenSeat software automatically.

When you buy a "GreenSeat" we use the proceeds to plant, manage and protect forests that store CO2 as they mature. This is done by our forestry partner the  Face Foundation (Forests Absorbing Carbon dioxide Emission).

Since the airline industry is a global industry and our climate is a global system we plant the trees in various places around the world. Most planting is done in tropical areas because trees in those areas grow all year long and thus ‘soak up’ CO2 quicker. Click here to find out more about our forestry projects.

The certification process of CO2 from the forestry projects is monitored by the internationally recognised organisation SGS (Société Générale de Surveillance). The forestry projects are in compliance with FSC regulations and are continuously monitored in terms of sustainable forest management and the amount of CO2 sequestered (‘soaked up’).

When you buy a GreenSeat with easyTahiti.com you receive a certificate that states the amount of CO2 that you have compensated for that particular flight. The certificate doesn’t give you ownership of trees but states the amount of C02 that will be taken out of the atmosphere. In a way it is a receipt of the clean air that you have just bought!

CO2 calculation

The cost of making your seat a GreenSeat is calculated with a CO2 meter based on the distance flown:
> 0.18 ton CO2 per 1.000 km for short haul (shorter than 1.000 km)
> 0.11 ton CO2 per 1.000 km for long haul (longer than 1.000 km)

The CO2 meter has been verified by UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) (UNEP, 2000: The GHG Indicator).

Cost of a GreenSeat

Approximately 50 trees need to grow for 1 year to compensate for 1 ton of CO2. The cost of planting, protection and management of forests in order to realise this sequestration determines the cost of a GreenSeat. The following pricing variables are used:
> € 10 per ton CO2 (this amount may vary over time based on project costs and CO2 market price fluctuations)
> € 1,00 administration fee per transaction.

more information on the GreenSeat organization

more informations on forest plantations