Our thinking

Easy (net zero) Jet

30 September, 2022

The airline made the news this week, and not because of its cheap flights. EasyJet has announced it will stop the carbon offsetting programme it started in 2019, recognising that offsetting was just an interim measure as it waited for new technology to support its ambition to lead the way in low carbon aviation.  

Instead of purchasing carbon offsets (the credibility of which has been called into question) that amounted to about £23m a year, EasyJet has committed £19.5bn to help it reduce emissions by 78% by 2050, using carbon capture technology to address the issue of residual emissions and get itself to net zero. The targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative, suggesting they are credible and robust.  

More information on EasyJet’s plans will come in time, but it has been clear that the emission reductions will come through the use of more sustainable aviation fuel, a partnership with Airbus that will retrofit newer planes to become more fuel efficient, replacing older planes with Airbus’ more efficient fleet and a partnership with Rolls Royce which should see hydrogen powered jet engines enter the EasyJet fleet.   

So this is all good. We are excited by the level of investment EasyJet is committing to, and its ambition – it represents a move away from carbon neutrality as a goal and a step in the right direction of significant absolute cuts in emissions. That said, we do wonder why they are stopping carbon offsetting altogether while they wait for these plans to pay carbon dividends (although it is worth noting they will provide facilities for customers to offset their own flights, for a fee). Of course, carbon offsetting is just a tool in a box of many tools, but it can – when done right – complement investments in carbon reduction technologies. And for as long as there are residual emissions (and we are, after all, aiming for net zero, not absolute zero), there will be a role for offsetting. And as gold standard verified standards carbon offsets often support social as well as environmental outcomes, why not continue to buy carbon offsets and invest in the future? 

By Marie Guerinet