Below are the carbon emissions for a few flights to Spain from around the world.
- A one-way flight from Barcelona to Madrid generates carbon emissions of 75kg per person.
- A round-trip flight from Heathrow, England to Madrid generates carbon emissions of 330kg per person.
- A round-trip flight from New York (JFK), USA to Madrid generates carbon emissions of 635kg per person.
- A round-trip flight from Sydney, Australia to Madrid generates carbon emissions of 1944kg per person.
These calculations were made using this Flight Carbon Emissions Calculator. There are lots of carbon emissions calculators out there, but this one is by far the easiest to use.
The average carbon emissions per passenger kilometer by air is 0.15kg, according to DEFRA, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the UK.
Remember that by choosing not to fly, though you decrease your carbon footprint, the flight will go ahead as normal and the same amount of carbon will be released into the atmosphere.
However, the argument is that if we all refrain from flying unnecessarily, over the time the growth in commercial flights will drop or even stop. It is up to you to decide of this is really possible and if it the potential benefit outweighs the cost to you.
Are you skeptical about carbon footprints? You might be interested to see what claims to be The Real Carbon Footprint Calculator.
