What airlines are doing about climate change
Alan Joyce
Former Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at Qantas Airways Limited
This week I spoke to the Centre for Aviation in Sydney about how we are confronting the challenge of climate change.
It comes at a time when we’re hearing about more and more climate events around the world. Europe is facing record temperatures this summer and ice sheets in Greenland are melting at an extraordinary rate.
It’s well known that air travel contributes two per cent to global carbon emissions, but what isn’t well known are the efforts the industry is putting into reducing this impact.
Airlines globally are aiming to halve CO2 emissions by 2050 compared to 2005 levels. From 2021, we’ll have carbon neutral growth on international flights – the first industry to make this happen.
Despite this, there are campaigns in some parts of Europe to shame people into not taking flights. And various governments are considering new surcharges on airfares, similar to the ‘sin taxes’ on alcohol and cigarettes.
These are retrograde steps.
Think of the impact this would have on the global economy, on trade, on jobs, on tourism and on connecting isolated parts of the world, like Australia.
The focus should be on how we reduce the impact of flying – not simply to stop doing it.
Airlines are taking action on climate change, but we need to do a better job of telling people that.
I’m proud of what Qantas, and our customers, are doing.
Worldwide, 1 in 100 customers offset the carbon generated from their flight. For Qantas it’s 1 in 10. And since offering a bonus of 10 Qantas Points per dollar spent on carbon offsetting, the number of Frequent Flyers choosing this option has risen by 15 per cent. (Interestingly, we’ve seen a 26 per cent increase in offsetting among small-to-medium enterprises who are part of the program.)
We are working with governments and industry to increase the use of biofuels here and overseas. We’ve also set a target of reducing waste onboard our flights by 75 per cent by end-2021 and removing 100 million pieces of single use plastic by end-2020.
So, is aviation part of the problem? Yes. But we’re making good progress with solutions, and coming up with answers that are better than just “stop flying places”.
Māori Sovereign Queen o Aotearoa
4 年Kapai to mahi
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4 年Great
Chief Executive Officer and Non Executive Director | Expertise in IT, SCM, Governance, Risk and Commerical Agreements
5 年Alan, a well written and articulated article drawing on the sectors desire to continually push the bounadries of environmental innovation. I also believe the sector needs to broadcast more on the positives it is moving toward carbon free travel. With the advent of bio fuels, ligther/stronger materials and continued evolution of engines, we are making positive progress. Kudos to QF for its part.
HSE Advisor BOOM Clarke Creek Windfarm
5 年Good on QANTAS for the efforts on climate change. One concerning thing for me is your recent crack in wings. My 90 year old mum and my older sister flew from Canberra to a connecting flight to Adelaide from Melbourne. Jus the flight that was cancelled. If they had known that the Melbourne to Adelaide flight was grounded, my mum could have stayed in the comfort of my sisters house. Instead my90 year old mum, who i care for now will refuse to fly. Can you suggest now how i can get any respite from supporting my mum. Very disappointed in QANTAS forcing a 90 year old to endure a long stay over and arriving in Adelaide way passed her normal sleep time, not to mention her discomfort and stress. Insulting really and uncaring of aged people.
Land Agent
5 年I recently had an airline supplier ask me to sign a contract to have my (carbon neutral) skincare products handed out to passengers on global airlines. I’m very interested in the work Airlines are doing to reduce carbon emissions, and in fact, not only the airlines but individuals and other businesses as well. Well done, Alan, on educating consumers! Everyone needs to be involved in doing their part. My Company is not even a drop in the ocean compared to others but from its inception it has been involved in planting trees, and in particular, the focus is now on trees that bear edibles, to have even more of a flow on, being able to provide produce that are given to families and people in need. The skincare packaging has never consisted of boxes or other extra packaging and now some other skincare brands are starting to reduce their packaging and therefore the negative impact. I’ve recently seen fruit and veggie shops doing away with having produce packaged up in plastic bags. It’s always pleasing to learn what everyone is doing in a positive way to help our planet, no matter how big or small as it all helps!