How to offset the carbon cost of your next road trip
Photo Aaron Burden / Unsplash
At Detour we believe the most amazing thing about motor vehicles is the freedom to explore the world that they provide. To drive through the rich colours of a forest in the fall or the bright blossom of spring. To cross a desert, climb a mountain or hug the coast.
Yet we are also all too aware of the harm that emissions from the internal combustion engine are doing. Road tripping has become a guilty pleasure, but there is a way to reduce the environmental impact through carbon offsetting.
What is carbon offsetting?
Carbon offsetting is essentially a trade. You calculate the amount of CO2 that your car will emit and then pay towards supporting a project or projects which are actually removing carbon from the atmosphere such as re-forestation programmes or carbon capture technologies.
How can I do it?
There are a host of companies offering ways to carbon offset your whole life, taking into account where and how you live and all of your travel, including flights. Always be sure to check that they are investing your money in genuine, certified projects, though. If you just want to calculate and offset the carbon cost of your driving then the Net Hero app is extremely easy to use - you simply choose your car and your mileage and the app calculates what you should pay. Buyers of Shell fuel can opt to pay a small amount extra (0.5p in the UK) per litre to offset their emissions using the Shell Go+ app.
How much does it cost?
Obviously it depends on your car and the number of miles you drive. It also varies wildly between providers. Detour’s 1982 Lotus Esprit driving 3,000 in a year would emit two tonnes of carbon dioxide, according to Net Hero for which the company would charge £90. If we were able to exclusively use Shell fuel for all of those miles we’d use about 450 litres of E5 and the added cost would be just £2.25. BP’s Target Neutral calculator says the same distance in the same car would cost £3.74. Driving Down charges 2.5p per litre of fuel or £6 per tonne of CO2.
Will it really make a difference?
Carbon offsetting alone clearly won’t solve the climate crisis, but if you do decide to offset your driving with a reputable company that can prove it invests in projects that do absorb carbon from the atmosphere then it will obviously be better than nothing.
Can’t I just plant a tree?
It takes six mature trees to absorb one metric tonne of C02 so you’ll definitely need to plant more than one. And bear in mind that it takes trees years to reach maturity and begin to suck up the the same amount of carbon as your car emits in a year.