Travelers bothered by their flight’s pollution can pay to reduce it elsewhere. Do offsets work?

Or, maybe you’re an environmentally minded person, and you’ve heard you can buy these things called carbon offsets. “Aviation and shipping are not decarbonizing, and definitely not fast enough.”That’s where carbon offsets come in. It’s connected to something that stores or reduces carbon emissions — for example, planting trees, or funding renewable energy. Barbara Haya, director of the Berkeley Carbon Trading Project, has studied carbon offsets for more than 20 years. Instead of buying carbon offsets, Haya said she donates $1,000 to an organization she cares about on the rare occasion she flies for work or family visits.