South African Airways is giving passengers the chance to buy “absolution” for their climate change sins, by making extra voluntary payments for their flight tickets.

The airline announced this week that it had joined an internationally accredited carbon-offset project, a scheme which encourages passengers to pay for the extra carbon load in the atmosphere caused by burning billions of litres of jet fuel.

SAA said that on a typical return flight from Joburg, voluntary offset costs for an economy ticket would be around R60 (Durban) R186 (Cape Town), R452 (Säo Paulo) or R518 (London). This would be roughly double for business class passengers.

However, critics argue that carbon trading schemes are open to fraud and manipulation and also perpetuate the notion that the wealthy can solve complex problems by paying a bit extra while continuing to lead unsustainable lifestyles.

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