The climate desperately wants to buy travel insurance, but it can't.

The poor old climate watches as the global warming gases from airliners grow and grow.

Currently 2 - 3% of the world's greenhouse emissions are from this source, and air travel is tipped to double by 2050.

And what can the climate do about it, apart from get hot under the collar?

Unfortunately, not much.

Airline passengers can buy travel insurance, but who will pay to assure the climate is okay?

While there is no travel insurance for the climate, per se, there is carbon offset.

Carbon offset is a means by which air travelers can help undo the greenhouse emissions from their air travel.

My Clean Sky has been developed to tell the story about air travel and the climate, and to help air passengers do their bit to help the climate keep its cool.

The diagram below shows how the carbon offset service works.

Until there are solar powered jet liners, offsetting is the only way to mitigate the emissions caused by air travel.

My Clean Sky seeks to meet high levels of 'offset quality'.

The information below describes the seperate elements by which we do this.

Quality carbon offset projects need to be able to demonstrate that the reduction project would not have proceeded without the availability of carbon finance provided by the sale of carbon credits.

The provision of soil carbon credits is accelerating the uptake of sustainable farming practices by providing cash incentive to overcome financial and other barriers to these practices.

Administrative rigour describes the quality of administration of the carbon offset scheme both in the calculation of emissions and in the implementation of emissions reduction projects.

The carbon credits used by My Clean Sky are registered with the (Australian) National Environment Registry.

Technical rigour describes the quality of the science behind the carbon offset scheme both in the calculation of emissions and in the emissions reduction project.

The My Clean Sky aviation calculator is based on an internationally recognised methodology advised by the World Business Council on Sustainable Development. The offset projects themselves must have high levels of technical rigour in order to be registered with the National Environmental Registry or other certification.

Some greenhouse reduction projects really do little more than reduce greenhouse emissions. Other projects carry with them a range of social, environmental and economic benefits. For example, a wind farm assisting to create a regional tourism industry or a plantation that has ecological habitat values.

My Clean Sky supports soil carbon sequestration projects which, apart from reduceing net concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere, have other benefits. These include improved fertility of soils and crop productivity, reduce run off of nutrients to waterways, reduce use of nitrogen fertilizers, improved water retention (drought-proofing).