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BA leads airlines pledge to halve emissions
Ross Lydall22.09.09
The airline industry will today pledge to cut emissions by half - a move that is certain to drive up fares.
British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh will tell the United Nations climate change summit in New York that airlines, airports and plane manufacturers have offered to cut carbon dioxide by 50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2050.
The aim is to prevent world leaders, under pressure from environmental campaigners, imposing their own limits on the industry. It is responsible for 1.6 per cent of emissions but threatens to become the most polluting sector if passenger numbers continue to rise five per cent a year over the next 20 years.
Previous studies have estimated that limiting carbon dioxide emissions could add about £8 to the cost of a return short-haul flight and £36 to a long-haul trip. Mr Walsh has indicated the £3billion cost of airlines signing up to a global "carbon permits" scheme would be passed on to passengers.
Mr Walsh will tell the UN summit on climate change: "International aviation emissions were not included in the Kyoto protocol 12 years ago. Now we have a chance to rectify that omission. Our proposals represent the most environmentally effective and practical means of reducing aviation's carbon impact. They are the best option for the planet and we urge the UN to adopt them."
China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, is expected to seize the initiative at the UN and become a world leader on climate change.
UN climate chief Yves de Boer said he understood that Chinese president Hu Jintao would today announce that his country would move into a "leadership position" on the environment.
Experts fear that if the earth's temperature rises two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels this will provoke floods, droughts and rising sea levels. To stay below this, global emissions must fall from 50 gigatonnes today to 44 gigatonnes by 2020.
Mr Walsh hopes that his proposals, made on behalf of the International Air Transport Association, will be placed on the agenda for December's climate change conference in Copenhagen. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who will be in New York, is also expected to travel to Denmark.
Under Mr Walsh's proposals, airlines would go twice as far as the UK government wants by 2050 in terms of cutting CO2. All industry expansion would be "carbon neutral" by 2020, CO2 emissions would fall 1.5 per cent a year over the next decade and the industry would move towards joining the UN's carbon trading scheme by November 2010.
But Greenpeace warned that the system of buying "carbon credits" - effectively paying a financial penalty for emitting harmful gases - rather than reducing emissions themselves, "shows that Willie Walsh is not really taking the issue of climate change seriously".
Reader views (4)
Oh poor little willie! So aviation wants to carry the load of pollution - how is it going to do this - start paying tax on fuel, NO, reduce short haul flights, No, Encourage train travel not flights - NO. Its going to tackle carbon emmissions by buying 'carbon credits' so it does not actually reduce any CO2 - it will just say its gone neutral as it buys the right to pollute - anyone see a small flaw in willies plan - thats it CO2 dpoes nbot actually go down at all in aviation land! Not one thing willie said is legally binding or mandatory - it is pure spin.
- Christian Ball, London, UK
Halve emissions? How they gonna do that then?
Cut the number of flights? Increase ticket prices? Admit they don't need another runway at Heathrow after all? Fat chance.
- C. Nichol, London
Halve their emmissions? Probably means half their aircraft are grounded. (Ok, so I'm a cynic - what else is new?)
- Rogan, Irving
Reminds me of the pub sign: "Free beer tomorrow!" 2050 is a very long way off --- so far away as to make such statements totally meaningless. Who knows what airlines will even exist in 2050?
- Phil Jones, London UK
