The UK aviation industry may be aiming to hit a target of net zero emissions by 2050 according to a roadmap published by the UK’s Sustainable Aviation Coalition yesterday but analytics firm Global Data said the industry needs to take real action towards environmental sustainability by 2023.
The data and analytics firm said that with 125 million passengers forecast to fly to and from UK airports by 2023, more concreate steps need to be taken now. Ben Cordwell, Associate Travel & Tourism Analyst at GlobalData, said that while the aim of hitting net carbon emissions to zero by 2050 is an ambitious target alternative biofuels still produce carbon dioxide.
GlobalData figures forecast over 125 million passengers will fly to and from UK airports by 2023 which will mark an increase of over 16 million passengers from 2018.
“[This] brings with it an enormous increase in carbon emissions, something that seems very unlikely to be offset through the planting of trees,” said Cordwell.
Cordwell called for greater transparency from the aviation sector and pointed to the
November 2019, ‘fuel tankering’ scandal, a procedure that deliberately adds weight to flights, to avoid paying higher prices for refuelling at their destination airports and adding to Co2 emissions as they do so.
“These kinds of procedures point towards an industry that has little interest in real action towards environmental sustainability,” he said.