What’s the Aid Sector’s Carbon Footprint? Everyone Is Measuring Different Things, so We Are Comparing Apples and Pears

About this investigation: The aviation and energy sectors come with a heavy carbon footprint, but what about the aid sector? The New Humanitarian asked 24 organisations to estimate their total carbon footprint and say what – if anything – they’re doing to reduce it. The findings were surprising. For starters, it was hard to get an accurate sector-wide picture because many groups – particularly UN agencies – don’t measure all their emissions. Some also rely on carbon offsetting to reduce the impact of their more harmful activities even though critics say this is no cure-all. It’s not all gloomy, however. Several are adopting lessons from the pandemic: taking fewer flights and buying local.