Aviation Wants Us to Trust It to Fix Its Own Green Problems: Should We?
Photo Credit: A British Airways aircraft. BA-owner IAG has committed to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Flickr / Steve Lynes
Skift Take
Airlines have tried to get out in front of regulators when it comes to sustainability. But their tweaks and solutions only scratch the surface of the problem. In 20 years' time, will we all look back on an era of frequent flying as one of dangerous excess?
The aviation industry is throwing money at initiatives aimed at decarbonizing flying in the hope that it will stop government and regulatory interference.
The likes of EasyJet, IAG, and JetBlue in the past few months have all announced various schemes that on the surface look great for the environment. But while offsets and other initiatives are good in theory, they don’t alter the fact that aircraft will continue to pump millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the air at high altitudes.
As outgoing IAG CEO Willie Walsh said at a recent event focused on sustainability: “Our industry unfortunately doesn’t have a viable alternative to a carbon-based fuel today.”
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At the moment flying might only contribute just over 2 percent to global emissions. That figure, however, is only going to rise thanks to increasing demand and improvements in other industries. This means governments and reg
