the proposal of some companies

Paying for a more expensive flight today for more environmentally friendly fuel tomorrow. This is what more and more airlines are offering. Concretely, it is possible to pay a few extra euros, when booking the flight, to support the biofuel sector.

This device has been around for some time. The money thus collected aims to support reforestation in India, Kenya or Colombia. Air France also supports, for example, projects aimed at absorbing and storing CO2. But the company is in the process of changing its approach by relying more now on the creation of a biofuel sector.

In other words, you pay a little more for your flight for sustainable fuel. The number of passengers who lend themselves to the game is still low – it was less than 4% at Transavia in 2021 – but the dynamic exists. Air France has seen the number of donors double in one year.

Recognized labels

The investment will be reliable if it corresponds to recognized labels, specifies Claudine Foucherot, of the Institute of the economy for the climate. “We are almost certain that when we offset our emissions through this type of certification framework, the money we have put in is money that has really been used to set up a project that would not have happened without this funding”.

The two main internationally recognized labels are Gold Standard and Vera. However, these carbon footprint calculations are controversial because they come directly from the airlines and do not take into account other factors, such as the extraction or transport of kerosene.