Carbon offset
A carbon offset is a credit representing one tonne of CO2 avoided or removed elsewhere, such as through forest protection, methane capture or direct air capture, which a flyer buys to compensate for a flight's emissions. Offsets are cheap relative to a charter, often $10–$50 per tonne against a light jet's roughly one tonne per flight hour, and many operators bundle them into the price. Quality varies enormously; many avoidance credits have been shown to overstate their benefit, so look for verification under Verra, Gold Standard or similar, recent vintages and preferably removals rather than avoidance. Offsets are a complement to flying less and using SAF, not a substitute.