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I often have to listen to German greenies lecture the rest of the world about “responsible behavior” and “climate protection”. But when they are asked to make a contribution, they say no.

Per capita, Germans are close to no. 1 worldwide when it comes to flying. And hearing them constantly pontificate about protecting the climate, you’d think they’d be the first to offset their flight CO2 when flying. A recent radio report reveals that although Germans like to preach, they sure don’t care much about practicing it.

Show projects and talking about it are enough.

Rainer Hoffmann here steers our attention to a DRadio report about German fliers voluntarily paying a little extra on the price of an airline ticket to offset the CO2 emissions produced by the flight. German radio interviewed green journalist Phillip Schnee.

When booking an airline ticket online, some websites tell you how much CO2 your flying will cause. Then you can check a box if you wish to offset some of that CO2. Checking the box means you’ll have to pay a little extra (3 to 15 euros) for your flight. Now you’d think many Germans would be checking that little box if they were truly concerned and sure about manmade climate change.

Well, it turns out that they are not that concerned about it at all. The DRadio moderator asks Phillip Schnee how many people actually volunteer to offset some of the CO2 their flights produce (4:32). Schnee tells us the answer:

“At the biggest provider, at atmosfair.de, every year 100,000 flights are compensated. […] The experts from atmosfair estimate that less than 1% of the flights are compensated, and at less than one percent, they believe that the amount is so small that it is not really measurable.”

At the 1:00 minute mark, the moderator asks Schnee if the voluntary donations really offset the flight CO2 emissions? Schnee answers:

No, not really. […] You have to view it as a donation, and it’s better than doing nothing. The best thing one can do is to not fly.”

So the next time you’re in Europe and someone starts preaching about your environmental responsibilities, just nod in agreement, smile, say it’s a lovely story, and flash a little wink. Works every time.

The choice is really very clear, do you spend 10 euros for an offset that does nothing for the climate, or do you donate the money to a really worthy cause?