by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 2:43 PM ET, Thu May 2, 2019
Responsible Travel has released a new manifesto on aviation and climate change that calls the aviation industry one of the fastest growing contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.
The manifesto from the travel company also challenges governments around the world to take actions to reduce demand for flying through taxation and other measures.
"As the world focuses in on reducing carbon emissions aviation is getting a free ride," Justin Francis, CEO Responsible Travel, told TravelPulse. "This has to stop if we are to keep global warming below 1.5 percent."
Francis said he was stunned to discover that airline emissions are exempted from both the Paris and Kyoto Protocols on climate change.
According to the manifesto, if aviation was a country, it would be the 7th largest emitter of CO2 in the world, just behind Germany. In Europe, Ryanair has become one of the top 10 most carbon polluting businesses.
A 2018 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommended that to limit global temperature rises to no more than 1.5C, global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 must be 55 percent below 2017 levels.
With the predicted rise in global air passengers, even the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) predicts that aviation emissions are expected to grow by up to 300 percent by 2050.
"If we are to achieve the necessary global cuts in emissions, the aviation industry cannot rely on other sectors to take on the burden of reductions. Aviation needs to play its part and tackle its own emissions," says Responsible Travel's manifesto, which goes on to point out that aircraft emit more than just C02.
"Meaning aviation's total historical impact on the climate could be between two and four times greater than from CO2 alone," it states. "Left unchecked, aviation could contribute over a quarter of the world's carbon budget by 2050."
Francis told TravelPulse that he was also shocked to learn aviation fuel is not subject to taxes or duties, which he says means "effectively every taxpayer is subsidizing the highly polluting aviation industry."
"If you ever wondered why flying is relatively cheap then now you know - it comes at your expense and that of the environment," said Francis.
Responsible Travel does not believe that carbon offsets, which have become popular among some travelers, are an effective means of dealing with the pollution from the aviation industry.
The concept of carbon offsets has existed for many years and they occur in two separate contexts, the compliance market, and the voluntary offset market.
In addition, airlines frequently offer them to customers as a way to compensate for the CO2 emissions from their flights, according to Responsible Travel.
"By voluntarily paying a little extra, based on how much C02 their flight will generate, a passenger (or businesses) can support an initiative which 'cancels out' this C02- such as tree planting, a wind farm or the distribution of fuel-efficient stoves in developing countries, for example," states the company.
However, a 2017 study of offsets, commissioned by the European Commission, found that 85 percent of offset projects under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) had failed to reduce emissions. This clearly shows that even the very best schemes don't work.
Bringing about significant industry change will mean that individuals need to alter their travel habits, and ultimately fly less, suggested Responsible Travel. With all of this said, the company stressed in its manifesto that it is not anti-travel or even anti-flying for that matter.
"However, we believe we must urgently find ways to travel more responsibly and to protect our environment," says the manifesto, which also highlights various projects that pose hope for the future including efforts to investigate the development of zero and low emission planes, including electric.
These sorts of planes could offer carbon-free solutions if charged using renewable energy, says Responsible Travel.
What's more, the Norwegian government has set a goal of making all short-haul flights electric by 2040, and EasyJet hopes to fly electric planes on some routes by 2027.
However, given the existing levels of focus and funding for such efforts, it could be two or three decades before any of these things become commercially viable even for short routes. So while they're exciting, they will not happen soon enough to offer the significant, global reduction in emissions needed to meet the 1.5C target, said Francis.
Even more urgent and immediate efforts are needed.
"Aviation is the elephant in the room for the future of tourism and the communities in the destinations in which we operate," said Francis. "With just 10 years left to keep global warming below 1.5 percent, we have to stop talking about doing something. We need a plan that will work, and we need it yesterday."
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