Summer holiday season is coming to an end, and it’s almost time to stow those suitcases back in the attic until next year. For the more organised amongst us, it’s also time to start thinking about next year’s destination of choice. But if you’re trying to keep your carbon footprint in-check, jetting off to explore foreign climes brings with it a whole new dilemma: not just where to go, but whether flying is really an environmentally friendly choice.
I work for the Air Transport Action Group, which is a global cross-industry coalition including airlines, airports, aircraft and engine manufacturers, air traffic controllers, etc. that have decided to coordinate their environmental activities to reduce the impact of aviation on the environment. One of the initiatives we’re working on is called Enviro.aero which aims to illustrate what the entire air transport industry is doing to reduce its environmental impact – we also have a website: www.enviro.aero .
Flying is an important part of both our business and our personal lives, allowing us to visit friends and explore new places, which just wouldn’t be practically accessible by any other form of transport. However, both individuals and the industry need to adopt a responsible approach to limiting aviation’s environmental effects.
This means you need not avoid holidaying abroad, but you do need to be a responsible traveller. And the first step is often the hardest – when you fly… pack light! Yes, they do make suitcases that can carry your entire wardrobe these days, but wouldn’t it be nicer not to have to enlist a team of fellow travellers to haul your bag off the conveyor belt for once? Think about what you’ll really need to take, rather than how big your weight allowance is, and you’ll probably save a good few kilos.
Leaving even one kilo of luggage at home can make a surprisingly big difference. An aircraft will burn about 0.03kg of fuel for each kilogramme carried per hour. Based on that average, and given that the total commercial fleet combined flies about 57 million hours per year, saving one kilogramme on each flight could save roughly 170,000 tonnes of fuel and 540,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. Let that be your inspiration, and leave a few things behind next time you fly.
A lighter bag also makes it easier to get yourself down to the nearest train station or bus terminal, and taking public transport to the airport is another step towards reducing CO2 emissions and improving local air quality. Public transport to and from our airports has never been so good. Just look at the effect the Heathrow Express has had in London: it can carry 5.5 million passengers annually, which means 3,000 fewer cars on the road every day.
Once you’ve done all you can to minimise the emissions of your flight, think about offsetting those which are unavoidable. Some airlines, including British Airways, SAS Group, and Cathay Pacific, now offer you the opportunity to offset when you buy your ticket. Although I’d agree it’s not perhaps a long-term solution, offsetting does fund projects, which will contribute to reducing the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, so it shouldn’t be dismissed.
And of course, it’s not just you as the passenger who should behave responsibly. The whole air transport industry has a role to play and is in the process of implementing a number of initiatives to fulfil their obligation to reduce emissions. The industry is investing in the latest and most efficient aircraft technology; it is decreasing the weight of planes and saving fuel; it is developing new operational procedures on the ground that save fuel; and is constructively moving towards emissions trading in Europe. Alternative fuels are being investigated for both aircraft and ground vehicles; modified winglets are being introduced which reduce drag and can improve fuel efficiency by five percent, and by working with governments across the world to shorten routes, the industry saved 6 million tonnes of CO2 last year.
Whether we’re flying for business or personal reasons, it’s up to us as consumers to work with the industry to minimise the environmental impact of our travels. We shouldn’t have to leave our environmental principles at home when we travel, and I don’t believe we have to. Carefully planned packing, responsible travel to the airport, and a contribution to offsetting your impact will mean that wherever you end up, on a sun-soaked beach or muddy mountain trail, you don’t need to worry about how you got there (until you need to find your way home…).
October 13th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
Hhhmm, although it is great that the industry is starting to consider its impact on the environment i’m not sure if it will be enough. I understand that research has commenced on creating solar powered planes however I doubt that we would see any such passenger planes for a very very long time as it is such a complexed area. Society should really reduce its need to fly as much as possible, however that is a hard task – try explaining that to the mass of society who after working hard all year want to jet off into the sun, or people who have family located all round the world and want to see them and business people who claim that they have to fly to see their clients as face to face business meetings are better!
I personally have only been on a plane once in the last 2 years, as I try to have UK based holidays instead. I do plan on going to France next year however will be going on train. I would love to get involved with Earthwatch expeditions in other countries such as Peru – but how would I get there sustainably in a realistic timeframe? I really do think flying is the hardest environmental issue to tackle – its such a shame we cant teleport!!! I hope that we can find a realistic slution before it becomes to late.
October 18th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Yes, it is a very difficult issue but we are seeing real results in our efforts to reduce the impact of flying on the environment. Flying today has much less of an impact than it did ten years ago and a further 25% improvement is projected by 2020. By then, we also expect to see new technologies appearing that will be 50% more fuel-efficient than today.
In the meantime, lots of other projects are going on across the industry, for example, the first commercial trial of a biofuelled, Rolls-Royce powered, Boeing aircraft will be seen toward the second half of next year/early 2009.
When you go to Peru, you could take part in a carbon off-setting scheme, mentioned in my post. There are lots of options available, including http://www.coolearth.org. Take a look here for more details: http://www.enviro.aero//Carbonoffsetting.aspx .
Although it is a tricky issue, we are continually looking for more solutions and it’s great that the whole industry is taking responsibility. If we can also encourage consumers to follow some of the tips above, we can definitely reduce the impact that flying has today.