Qatar Airways has launched its carbon offset programme. The airline’s passengers now have the opportunity to voluntarily offset the carbon emissions associated with their journey at the point of booking.
Qatar Airways said it carbon offset programme is built on a partnership with the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Carbon Offset Programme, providing its customers with the assurance that the credits bought to offset these emissions are from projects delivering independently verified carbon reductions as well as wider environmental and social benefits.
Mr. Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, said: “We are pleased to be able to offer our customers the opportunity to offset the carbon emissions associated with their journeys with us.
“As an environmentally responsible airline, our modern fleet of technologically advanced aircraft, together with our fuel-efficiency programme, combine to optimise aircraft performance and reduce the environmental impact of flying. Our customers can now help to further minimise their environmental footprint by opting to contribute to our carbon offset programme,” Mr. Akbar added.
Qatar Airways CEO, Mr. Akbar Al Baker
Mr. Alexandre de Juniac, IATA Director General and CEO, said: “We are delighted to welcome Qatar Airways to the IATA Carbon Offset Programme. Their commitment underlines our industry’s determination to reduce our impact on the environment while allowing Qatar Airways’ customers the opportunity to lessen the environmental impact of their own travel.”
“There is no alternative to aviation when it comes to long-distance travel and carbon offsetting is an immediate, direct and pragmatic means of limiting the impact of climate change,” Mr. de Juniac noted.
IATA Director General, Mr. Alexandre de Juniac
Customers can opt into Qatar Airways’ carbon offset programme when purchasing tickets through the Qatar Airways website and mobile application.
Booking information, including information regarding the carbon offset programme, is available in multiple languages including Arabic, Chinese (classic), Chinese (traditional), Croatian, Czech, English, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
According to Qatar Airways, emissions will be offset with climate and sustainable development expert ClimateCare, through the Fatanpur Wind Farm project in India. This project has installed wind turbine generators (WTGs) with a combined output of 108 MW to generate and supply clean electricity to the Indian National Grid.
The project consists of 54 wind turbines, installed in and around the villages of Taluk Dewas, Tonkkhurd and Tarana Taluk in the Dewas and Ujjain districts of Madhya Pradesh.
The turbines displace electricity generated from fossil fuel sources from the Indian grid, reducing the overall carbon intensity and leading to emissions reductions. This project avoids 210,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
Mr. Robert Stevens, ClimateCare Director of Partnerships, said: “We are pleased to be working alongside Qatar Airways and IATA to retire high quality, independently verified carbon credits on behalf of Qatar Airways’ customers who want to take responsibility for the environmental impact of their flights.”
“Their support for the Fatanpur project not only reduces global carbon emissions, it also provides employment opportunities; delivers improved education through providing materials and expertise to nearby schools; and supports a mobile medical unit – enabling improved healthcare to the local community,” Mr. Stevens concluded.
IATA’s Carbon Offset Programme has been approved by the independent audit organization Quality Assurance Standard, the highest standard for carbon offsetting which assesses how organisations calculate emissions, select offset projects and how they communicate this information to their customers. IATA is one of only four organisations worldwide to meet this standard.