Over the northern hemisphere summer, United States airlines have enjoyed booming flight demand, immune to a Swedish-born “flight shaming” movement that has hit air travel in Europe, where environmentally conscious travellers are choosing trains over planes.
However, the head of the global aviation lobby body International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said the environmental challenge, which he called the biggest threat to the airline industry in Europe, “will probably come to other parts of the world, especially North America.”
“If you believe or think that the environmental concern is a world concern touching everyone on the planet there’s no reason to believe that other young people won’t react,” Alexandre de Juniac, IATA CEO, told journalists.
Mr De Juniac later acknowledged to Reuters Newsagency that the lack of a viable train alternative in the US was a big hurdle to a US movement.
However, he noted the rise of progressives promoting plans such as the Green New Deal, which includes investment in high-speed rail.
The movement will spread in the US and then move on to advanced countries in Asia like Korea and Japan, Mr de Juniac predicted.
The affect on a country such as Australia, essentially isolated from all neighbouring countries, was not acknowledged.
Internally such a movement would have to overcome the need to travel long distances with little alternative but air travel.
The more anti-aviation sentiment grows, the more eager governments are to tax the industry, he said.
Reuters reports in July, France announced a tax on airlines flying from its airports to help support the environment.
Air France said the move would significantly hurt its competitiveness and add over €60 million in additional costs per year.
Commercial flying accounts for about 2.5 per cent of global carbon emissions today but without concrete steps to alleviate the problem, that number could rise as global air travel increases.
The aviation industry has already cut carbon emissions from each plane traveller in half since 1990, largely thanks to more fuel-efficient aircraft, and has a plan to cut net emissions by 2050 and achieve carbon-neutral growth from 2020.
Reuters reports the challenge now is to enforce and implement the goals, and win over the sentiment of a portion of the flying public that Mr de Juniac said wants to be reassured that the industry is “doing the right things.”
Activists advocating for zero-carbon travel are increasingly passionate and effective.
In August, Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg made a highly publicised crossing of the Atlantic in a racing yacht to avoid travelling by air to take part in a United Nations summit later this month.
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WE’RE BUILDING A PLATFORM WITH A CLEAR FOCUS ON THE ENVIRONMENT, CULTURAL AND SOCIAL GOOD. CONTRIBUTE AND TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE AN IMPACT.
One Response
Over a year ago, I travelled as far as Caloundra Qld from Ballarat Vic by train and bus. Loads of people on the Melbourne to Sydney and beyond train leg were doing it to avoid flying emissions and the horridness of airports.
It was great fun as we had a hop on, hop off ticket deal between Melbourne and Brisbane courtesy of NSW Rail and checked out lots of great places on the way up and back.