Cathay Pacific and Dragonair purchase 20,000 tonnes of carbon emissions reductions for offset programme
Mon 6 July 2009 – Cathay Pacific Airways and sister airline Dragonair have purchased 20,000 tonnes of carbon emissions reductions from offset retailer JP Morgan ClimateCare for the two airlines’ FLY greener offset programme. The offsets will be resold on a no-profit basis through the programme to passengers wishing to offset their carbon emissions. Up till March this year, a total of 30,000 tonnes of CO2 have been offset by passengers since the programme was launched in 2007. During 2008, travelling airline staff offset 11,814 tonnes of CO2 at a cost of around HK$900,000 ($116,000).
Funds from the offset purchase will be used towards three schemes in Mainland China – a natural gas fuel switch project in Beijing, a natural ‘run of river’ hydro plant in Guizhou and a group of 20 wind turbines in Heilongjiang.
All three are registered under either the Voluntary Carbon Standard or VER Plus, which the airlines say were “rigorously vetted to ensure they produce real, quantifiable and permanent reductions in carbon emissions” and meet internationally accepted carbon standards. The projects were chosen for their added social and environmental benefits, such as reducing local air pollution and providing power and jobs to local communities.
“We are pleased to offer these new projects through our FLY greener programme and give passengers the chance to contribute directly to emissions-reduction initiatives,” said Dominic Purvis, Cathay Pacific’s General Manager Environmental Affairs.
As well as individual passengers, companies based in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Taiwan have also participated in the FLY greener programme.
