I expect many readers are just back from holidays abroad, which felt necessary after the pandemic years.

I enjoyed a journey from Colorado to the Pacific North West, attending a wedding, and then taking a train and driving to Vancouver.

Sadly, my enjoyment was reduced by reports of rivers drying up, deaths in heatwaves, drought destroying harvests, and even algal bloom in Windermere. I am fearful for our “perilous future” and worried about injustice: younger as well as older people, with low footprints, and poorer people worldwide are suffering or will suffer the most.

So, I have decided to pay the true cost of my holiday and offset my emissions – despite our trip being costly. This is a second-best option, as you will see from the figures below, considering the huge emissions from a flight abroad.

Ham & High: Maya de Souza held a Dartmouth Park Talk about the climate emergency in CamdenMaya de Souza held a Dartmouth Park Talk about the climate emergency in Camden (Image: Archant)

Offsetting may feel like destroying the planet and then paying a small sum to alleviate a guilty conscience. The best action would be not to fly and contribute to an NGO in any event. However, until we reduce our huge per capita emissions, including flying long distances encouraged by the lack of taxes on jet fuel, the best we can do is pay those costs.

Here is how the process works. You begin by calculating your emissions using a carbon calculator. Then go to an offset organisation to choose offsets for the tonnes emitted. Consider how much to pay per tonne – some schemes only charge about £20 a tonne and others around £50. The real carbon price: ie the impact of your emissions is more in the region of £120 a tonne minimum.

Also consider whether the specific project is robust. Gold Standard provides some assurance. The website has certified projects for example reforestation and energy efficient cookstoves. There are others too for example Plan Vivo with some exciting projects, covered by the Verified Emissions Reduction scheme.

My travel related emissions came to just over 2.2tonnes of C02 for my return flight, 0.16t for the 1,000 miles car journey in a small Chevrolet Spark, and 0.07tonnes for the 1,250mile train journey. I am going to pay £245 into a scheme growing mangroves to store carbon, reduce coastal erosion, and provide a healthy habitat for wildlife. That’s a significant extra cost which will encourage me to cut my emissions for my next holiday.

Maya de Souza is an ex-Camden Councillor and a member of Climate Emergency Camden.