As the world waits for the results of the United Nations summit on climate change taking place in Copenhagen, many around the United Kingdom are already looking to the future and the things that will have to be changed if the United Kingdom plans to meet many of the goals regarding carbon emissions. One industry that has come under heavy scrutiny over the last few months has been the airline industry, which studies have shown contributes about four to five percent of the world’s carbon emissions. This has led some to believe that air travel will soon be diminished, especially on short haul flights that can be replaced by fast trains. A recent report confirmed that unless the United Kingdom does something to slow its air travel it will not be able to meet man of the goals outlined for carbon emissions.
A report from the Committee on Climate Change says that if British air travel exceeds a sixty percent growth rate by the year 2050 it will not meet carbon reduction standards. The CCC said that this information is not dire as it concedes that there could be many changes in aircraft and fuel that would make the cuts possible without losing the luxury of air travel. Moving to biofuels and having more efficient aircraft are two ways in which carbon emissions could be reduced, but for the present the CCC is recommending that airlines bump up their fares to keep people from flying unnecessarily.
This is not good news for the struggling air travel industry, which has seen its number of flights diminish as people try to save money and do what’s right for the planet.
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