Norwegian Air Becomes First Airline to Sign UN Climate Action Initiative

Norwegian Air, the World’s Best low-cost long-haul Airline, has partnered with climate company, CHOOOSE, to provide customers with the opportunity to seamlessly offset their carbon footprint during the flight booking process. The initiative has been welcomed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and makes Norwegian the first to sign this UN Climate Action Initiative. The climate compensation feature is available now on Norwegian.com/us.

“Norwegian has been named the most fuel-efficient transatlantic airline and we are continuously working to reduce our emissions through new initiatives. We’re now putting a price on actual carbon emissions from flying, making it easy for all our customers to take climate action,” said Acting CEO, Geir Karlsen.

“Even if commercial aviation technology continues to develop and Norwegian keeps reducing its environmental impact, emission-free flying is not possible today. Carbon offsetting is an important tool in managing today's emissions, and we know that many of our customers would like to compensate for emissions associated with their journey,” Karlsen added.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Last week, Norwegian became the first airline to sign the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) pledge, committing to become climate neutral by 2050.

"Putting a price on carbon in this way also helps driving more action and more ambition at all levels of society, including in business. We welcome this initiative by Norwegian to help their customers compensate their emissions when they travel. Bringing people together is fundamental for global understanding, for the economy, for wellbeing, and for the planet. We welcome Norwegian to our Climate Neutral Now initiative," said Niclas Svenningsen, Manager, Global Climate Action, UN Climate Change.

Climate Offsetting Clean Energy Projects

Norwegian developed the feature to be as informative, simple, and transparent as possible. When first selecting a flight, Norwegian informs customers how the flight emissions compares to industry emissions. The CO2 emissions calculation is based on the official methodology of the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Council of Clean Transportation (ICCT) and Norwegian’s own flight emissions data.Next, customers are offered a simple option to offset their calculated carbon footprint directly in the checkout process. For customers that opt-in, offsetting is then performed through carefully selected CO2-reducing clean energy projects in regions Norwegian serves. The projects are certified by the United Nations and the Gold Standard, which sets the standard for climate and development interventions to quantify, certify and maximize their impact. The Gold Standard also includes contributions to other UN Sustainable Development Goals

"In addition to climate impact, all Gold Standard projects deliver verified benefits to the local communities where they operate – new jobs, clean energy, improved air, and more. If Norwegian Air passengers are passionate about climate justice, they can trust that their contribution goes far beyond offsetting emissions," said Sarah Leugers, Director of Communications at Gold Standard.

A Seamless Solution

As the partner for its new solution, Norwegian has chosen the climate-tech company CHOOOSE. Based in Oslo, Norway, CHOOOSE has developed a solution that seamlessly integrates into the customer check-out process, making it easy for customers to connect with the best CO2-reducing projects around the world. In addition to Norwegian, CHOOOSE enables a wide range of partners to integrate climate action directly into their products and services, and now has customers in over 70 countries.

“CHOOOSE collaborates with those who challenge the status quo, demonstrate that they’re committed to reducing emissions, and take responsibility for the elephant in the room - some carbon footprints cannot be entirely avoided based on today's technology,” said Andreas Slettvoll, CEO of CHOOOSE.

“CHOOOSE has achieved a lot in a short time, and together we are offering a best-in-class solution for our customers. CHOOOSE operates in an area that is developing rapidly and absolutely necessary, and represents a new, refreshing approach to climate action,” said Fagernæs.Norwegian was voted the world’s most fuel-efficient airline on transatlantic routes in 2015 and 2018 by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) and since 2008, the airline has reduced its emissions by 30 percent per passenger kilometer as a result of operating younger, more fuel-efficient aircraft.