The research, carried out among 2,000 respondents by YouGov, also found 25% were undecided about what offsetting action to take.
This could be because 63% admitted they did not fully understand what carbon offsetting was, while just 35% answered correctly when asked to define the term.
However, with air travel accounting for about 10% of an individual’s annual carbon footprint, the survey found most holidaymakers realised that offsetting these emissions could make a significant difference.
But there was ‘real confusion’ about how to go about offsetting and how much it would cost. One in ten respondents thought it would cost up to £500 to offset a flight to New York, when in reality it costs under £10. Only 3% of respondents actually knew the true cost of offsetting a flight.
Expedia’s Alison Couper commented: ‘Several misconceptions around cost and a general lack of understanding are preventing many people from offsetting their carbon emissions.
‘At Expedia we offer travellers a simple and efficient way to offset their carbon emissions in partnership with The CarbonNeutral Company.’
Expedia.co.uk offers three offsetting options: flights up to 1,500km round trip from £1.31 per person; flights up to 5,400km round trip from £4.81 per person; and flights up to 22,400km round trip from £16.13 per person.
Other findings included 39% of men had no intention of offsetting their carbon compared with 19% of women; 9% of all respondents always offset their day-to-day carbon footprint, including emissions resulting from living, working and travelling; and 5% cited a lack of interest in the environment as a reason for not offsetting with another 5% not seeing it as their responsibility.
Regarding the Government’s role, 46% believed it talked a lot about cutting carbon but did not follow up with action; 7% that carbon offsetting should be made compulsory for everyone in the UK; and 89% that it was not doing a good enough job of raising awareness of the problem or giving sufficient advice on how to cut carbon emissions.
The CarbonNeutral Company uses money raised from offsetting schemes to fund projects around the world, such as small scale wind-power generation in India or the distribution of energy efficient light bulbs in Jamaica.
See also:
BA aims to unveil alternative fuel by March (14/07/08)
ETS ‘will lead to price hikes’ (09/07/08)
Cost not main concern for most holidaymakers (10/06/08)
ICAO aims to standardise carbon calculations (06/06/08)
Green concerns boost domestic bookings (23/04/08)