Amid flygskaming, aviation and industry partners must respond

THE selection of Greta Thunberg as Time magazine's Person of the Year could not have been greeted with much joy within the global aviation community.

After all, it was the Swedish teenage activist who has helped popularise flygskam (or flight-shame) to essentially force potential air travellers into contemplating other modes of transport instead.

The impact has been significant in Europe, and especially Sweden where 23 per cent of Swedes travelled by air in 2018. Airport operator Swedavia has reportedly seen a 10 per cent fall in passenger numbers across its 10 airports in that year. It is a matter of time before the trend spreads to the rest of Western Europe.

Those opposed to air travel do have a point. Planes pollute.

While direct emissions from aircraft is estimated to account for 2-3 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions, primarily carbon dioxide, the number is much higher on a per kilometre per passenger basis. This does not include the warming effect of water vapour from aircraft condensation trails. Some experts warn that aviation's carbon emissions could rise to over 20 per cent by 2050, given the rate of air traffic growth worldwide.

Given how global warning and climate change have become headline issues over the last three years, this consciousness about the impact of air travel has also spread through much of the Western world. Canada, Belgium, France and other developed nations are seeing a steady shift from planes to trains for overland travel. Indeed trains emit significantly less carbon (even up to 90 per cent less in some cases) compared to flying.

This "Greta Effect", as some call it, is a real imminent danger to commercial aviation in Europe. In time to come, as regulations are tightened and "green" taxes are levied, it will impact all carriers that fly to and through the continent. How should aviation respond?

Alexander de Juniac, CEO of the International Air Transport Association, has unveiled how his industry will, via its 2016 Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSA), achieve carbon neutrality by 2020, and halve its net emissions relative to 2005 levels by 2050.

But government and airline partners must also step up. They can do this by implementing supportive policies to invigorate the sustainable fuels industry. There is also a need for more initiatives and incentives to develop new power systems for engines.

Mr de Juniac and others in the industry believe that the combination of new technology, more fuel-efficient planes, better airspace management and the development of sustainable fuels could deliver real emissions reductions and generate US$40 billion in climate financing by 2035.

That is 15 years away. Can the planet wait that long? Some players are already starting to act. British Airways has recently announced plans to start offsetting carbon emissions for passengers on all flights within the UK and investing the money in green projects around the world. Other carriers are contemplating similar moves.

But the gorilla in the room is the relatively low tax on aviation fuel which gives this mode of transport a competitive advantage over other modes of transport. As climate change continues to hog the headlines, the issue of a tax on air travel and aviation emissions will start trending across debates.