EIL Intercultural Learning

Compensate for the carbon emission from your travel with the EIL Carbon Offset Programme!

Here at EIL we are offering you the option to compensate for the carbon footprint that your travel will generate.

Every day we hear of new examples of the effects of climate change, such as catastrophic floods, prolonged droughts and devastating hurricanes. These changes are related to the release of high quantities of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (mainly Carbon Dioxide: CO2), this release itself being primarily caused by human exploitation of fossil carbon, such as oil or coal. Flights are considered to be the most polluting means of transport and contribute greatly to the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere.

What are carbon offset programmes?

Carbon offsets are activities that cancel out the emissions created by the person paying for the offset. For example, a return flight from Dublin to Cape Town (South Africa) covers almost 20000km and produces over 2 tonnes of CO2. To offset these emissions you can fund the planting of enough trees that, over their lifetime, will absorb the same amount of CO2, thus making your flight carbon neutral. As the tree grows, it absorbs CO2 therefore removing it from the atmosphere where it would otherwise contribute to the greenhouse effect.

The EIL Carbon offset programme

With the EIL Carbon Offset Programme, we offer you the option to compensate for the CO2 that your flight will generate by supporting a reforestation programme. The donation will go directly to the local organisation Seeds of Help which promotes a reforestation programme in the mountains of Guatemala. EIL will pass on 100% of the donation and retain no administration fees.

We have chosen Guatemala as it is one of our most popular destinations for the Volunteer Abroad programme and also a country which is hugely affected by deforestation. Between 1990 and today, Guatemala has lost around 17% of its forest through mainly Illegal deforestation. This deforestation has devastating effects on the environment and on the livelihood of local people. We are supporting the Seeds of Help reforestation programme because it does benefit the environment but also support local development and makes a difference to the lives of local people.

One tree planted in Guatemala will capture around 1 tonne of CO2 during its lifetime. It costs only €5 to plant a tree in Guatemala. Through a small donation you can compensate for the carbon emissions that your flights will generate. Because CO2 emissions are distributed across the world, it does not matter whether you plant a tree in Ireland or in Central America - it will have the same positive effect on the environment.

We have calculated the CO2 Emissions corresponding to each of our programme destinations and the number of trees that need to be planted to compensate for these emissions:

Remember, carbon offsetting is not enough and there are many other things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint and protect the environment. Click here to learn more about reducing your carbon footprint.