It is in each and everyone’s own hands to prevent the production of greenhouse gases when planning holiday travel. For those who cannot avoid air travel there is still a way to make a voluntary commitment to compensate for emissions. However, the money must be spent on sensible and effective projects. The German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt) at the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) has issued a guide that focuses on the issue of voluntary compensation. It aims to help consumers better assess the quality of such activities.

More and more private individuals, businesses and organisations are making a voluntary commitment to compensate for their greenhouse gas emissions, in which their financial support of climate protection projects “balances out” their own CO2 emissions. More and more businesses are offering various projects of varying quality standards on the so-called compensation market, all of which is not very transparent for consumers.

The guide explains how climate protection projects work and presents the various types and standards of certificates that are available on the market. It also assists providers of compensatory services or “climate-neutral“ products to shape their offers in accordance with quality standards.

Both the guide and the checklist (in German) are available on the DEHSt website for free download.