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Making your flying more sustainable
 Sadly,
air travel is not particularly susustainable -jet aircraft are
responsible for putting huge amounts of C02 into the atmosphere
-you can calculate the CO2 emissions resulting from your own
flight by visiting Climate
Care, who have an online emissions calculator -you simply
enter details of your route. You can go further and assuage your
guilt by making a financial donation to offset your emissions
-perhaps not ideal but at least it raises awareness of the damaging
effects of air travel.
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- It is an emotive subject, with
lots of misinformation around (from both points of view) on the
effect of air travel on CO2 emissions. The website sustainableavaiation.co.uk promotes the airlines' point of view.
Friends
of the Earth published a report in 2006 which sets about
debunking industry claims about air travel. There is a well researched
summary of aviation emissions in comparison with other means
of travel available from Aviation
Environment Federation (Word format). This acknowledges that
the emissions per passenger mile are comparable with those of
traditional mototor cars, but that it is the huge distances that
airlines travel that makes aviation have such a huge effect -a
return flight to New York can have a similar impact to a years
motoring in an average UK car.
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- However, new planes are becoming
more efficient -one of our frustrations with air travel is the
difficulty of getting proper information -wouldn't it be good
if airlines publishes comparable figures for the different type
of plane in there fleets, so you can actually exrecise a consumer
choice when you make your booking. Do ask the question -figures
we have seen from Transport
Watch show that carbon emissions per seat mile can vary by
a factor of three when comparing older aircraft with new.
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- Of course there are other ways
you can minimise the impact of your air travel -using a local
airport rather than travelling further to major airports is a
good start, and you could travel to the airport by bus or train.
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Useful Sources of Information
- Air
Miles -the UK reward
programme for bargain holidays and discount flights.
- Aviation
Environment Federation
-the principal UK non-profit making environmental association
concerned with the environmental effects of aviation.
- BAA -British Airports Authority -airport
news, timetables, duty free shopping.
- Civil
Aviation Authority -the
United Kingdom aviation regulator.
- PlaneStupid.com -is a network of groups taking action
against airport expansion and aviation's climate impact.
- IATA - International Air Transport Association.
- Silent
Air Initiative -a joint
Cambridge-MIT research programme to develop an aircraft that
is effectively silent from beyonds the airport boundary.
- u-bag.com -excess and unaccompanied baggage shipping
services provided to airlines, travel agents and passengers for
delivery to destinations worldwide.
Airports
- Airports:
Airlines: contact details &
flight information
- United Kingdom
- Worldwide
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