LATAM plans to neutralise carbon emissions from cargo flights in South America

LATAM Airlines Group announced that it will compensate the CO2 emissions of the first nine routes in Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, and Colombia every Friday through its “Let’s Fly Neutral on Friday” programme. Through this initiative, which is part of the group’s sustainability strategy, LATAM will support conservation projects that prevent deforestation in strategic ecosystems in South America by offsetting CO2 emissions generated on routes, including passenger and cargo flights.
Emblematic passenger routes will be offset at a regional level, including Santiago-Chiloé, Galapagos-Guayaquil, Arequipa-Cusco, and Rio de Janeiro-São Paulo. LATAM will also offset cargo flights on routes including Iquitos-Lima, Guayaquil-Baltra Island, Brasília-Belém and Bogotá-Miami routes. LATAM plans to gradually incorporate new routes and more conservation projects into each country in the coming months.
“This initiative is another step that we have been implementing to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Let’s Fly Neutral on Friday will allow us to turn one day of the week into an opportunity to support strategic ecosystem conservation projects in the region. These projects not only offset CO2 emissions, but they also contribute to protecting biodiversity and the economic development of communities,” said Juan José Tohá, Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability of LATAM.
Each carbon dioxide (CO2) tonne emitted on these routes will be offset with a carbon credit, equivalent to one tonne of CO2 captured by a conservation project. The carbon offsetting of these routes will initially be managed through the CO2BIO flooded savanna conservation project, located in the Colombian Orinoquía, a strategic ecosystem that has iconic biodiversity. The initiative will conserve 200,000 hectares of floodable savannah, providing habitat for more than 2,000 species.
Over the next few months, LATAM Airline Group hopes to announce new conservation projects in the areas where it operates, which will allow for progress in three areas: protecting the natural heritage of South America, tackling climate change through greater CO2 capture, and contributing to the quality of life of local communities.