Wednesday 18 December 2019

Airline Association says it is tackling climate change but no one’s noticed

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says it must explain its environmental actions more to the public rather than just insiders. Alexandre de Juniac, Chief executive of the IATA says 'nobody' is aware of the strides the industry has made.

He says it pledged to improve fuel efficiency by 1.5% annually in the period 2009 to 2020; it achieved 2.3%. For the future the Association has promised carbon neutral growth from next year. In addition it has committed to cut emissions to half the level of 2005 by 2050.

However, it is unlikely the Association's 290 members will be making collective commitments beyond this. Instead de Juniac expects individual airlines will set out their own plans for net zero aviation.

For instance, EasyJet, which is not an IATA member, has announced carbon offsets for all its domestic and international flights. IATA members British Airways and Qantas have made similar commitments.

The U.N.´s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says aviation is responsible for 2% of global man-made carbon emissions.