Eco-travel scheme launched by ABTA

Britons looking to make their air journeys more eco-friendly might be interested to hear that a new green scheme has been launched by one of the travel industry's major trade bodies.

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has introduced an initiative dubbed Reduce My Footprint, through which holidaymakers can not only contribute to projects that offset the carbon dioxide produced by their flights, but also find out how they can reduce emissions in other parts of their daily lives.

Donations are used in schemes that help people living in certain holiday locations and take care of the environment in popular destinations, as well as in carbon offset programmes approved by the government.

"'So far, travellers have found it hard to get excited by offsetting, as they are often confused by the process and can't relate to where their hard-earned cash is going to," commented Keith Richards, head of consumer affairs at ABTA.

"Reduce My Footprint is about trying to re-balance our lives and putting money into projects that will make a difference."

Air travel represents the fastest growing source of the greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change, according to Friends of the Earth.

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