Airlines Still Think They Can Offset Their Way Out of Climate Catastrophe
Skift Take
Airlines are much more comfortable talking about mitigating climate change through incremental changes such as more efficient aircraft and carbon offsets. But these don't alter the fundamental problem. Flying is bad for the environment, and it's only going to get worse as demand keeps rising.
It used to be the case that airlines could skirt around the issue of their environmental impact. Sure, most people knew that in some way getting on a machine powered by fossil fuels was probably bad, but it wasn’t front of mind.
Today things are very different. The world is getting warmer thanks to human activity and we have a finite amount of time to change things in order to prevent a catastrophic rise in temperatures. The likes of Greta Thunberg, Extinction Rebellion, and others continue to highlight the problem, helping to keep it in the media and therefore in the mind of the traveling public.
Aviation might only contribute a small percentage to the worldwide total at the moment but — as we’ve covered extensively at Skift — that is only going to increase thanks to a rising demand and a lack of green alternatives.
Climate change is an existential threat to the airline industry and interestingly the companies themselves, rather than hiding or ignoring the subject, have been trying to control the narrative.
The issue of sustainability is now a battleground where airlines can compete for customers.
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