Photographer / Frequent Flyer Carbon Offsetting

As a wildlife photographer, I mostly find myself focusing on wild animals in remote and far-flung corners of the Earth. Unfortunately this often means taking long haul flights which result in damaging carbon emissions and inevitably contribute to global warming. Climate change is one of the most serious threats to the longterm future of many of the ecosystems I have visited. So what can a photographer whose work is so intrinsically tied to travel do? How can we reduce our carbon footprint?

Firstly, change starts at home and so small actions like eating less meat and recycling whenever possible can all add up to a significant reduction in emissions.

When it comes to travel, consider taking fewer trips each year that are longer. For example, rather than taking two, 10-day trips, consider taking a single 20-day trip instead – that alone could halve the number of long haul flights you take. I do not think cutting out travel completely is the answer – many communities and protected areas rely on tourism as a cruicial source of funding for conservation efforts and so sustainable and responsible tourism is vital.

Lastly, carbon offsetting is now accessible to any individual or small business. Various schemes exist that let you fund high-impact tree planting and other carbon offsetting initiatives. These can be subscription based to cover the carbon emissions from every day life, or you can make one-off contributions to cover specific trips and flights. Since early 2021 I have funded tree planting and other carbon offset programmes to tackle the climate crisis via this fantastic website:

Remember, carbon offsetting is not a substitute for reducing carbon emissions. We should all start by reducing emissions whenever possible and only use offsetting as a last resort.