A group of British pilots yesterday presented the Government with a report that they claim debunks the “myth” that air travel is a major cause of growing CO2 emissions.
Representatives from the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) commissioned the report entitled, ‘Aviation and the Environment’, which they hope will reveal the true impact of air travel on the environment.
“We were determined at the outset to concern ourselves only with the facts,” said BALPA chairman, Captain Mervyn Granshaw. “What is clear is that aviation has become a scapegoat for global warming.”
BALPA, which counts around 85% of Britain’s 10,000 pilots amongst its members, claims that CO2 emissions from UK road transport increased from 109 million tonnes to 120 million tonnes between 1990 and 2005. The group’s report notes that the increase of 11 million tonnes is bigger than that of the total emissions from the nation’s entire fleet of aircraft (10 million tonnes).
Cars, trucks and coaches are not the only form of transport to come under the pilot’s radar. BALPA claim that EU-flagged ships emitted almost 200 million tonnes of CO2 in 2000, which they say is considerably more than all of the the aircraft in the EU.
Even trains, often cited as an environmentally (if not financially) sounder option, came under the airmen’s fire. Although the organisation recognised that trains pollute less than aircraft per passenger / per kilometre, this they say is not true with journeys greater than 800 km (550 miles). BALPA also claims that planes also beat the new generation of high speed trains, currently rolling out across mainland Europe, when it comes to CO2 emissions.
“BALPA accepts the world has a problem,” added Captain Granshaw. “We do not number ourselves among the sceptics. Something certainly has to be done about the rising level of carbon dioxide emissions and we will play our part, but we cannot accept the false accusations our study exposes.”
I’d be interested to know if the report also looked at the relative effect of aviation emissions on the environment. Although they only make up 2% of overall emissions they are closer to the troposphere (upper bit of the atmosphere) and therefore apparently more likely to contribute to warming…
Comment by Globe Man — June 19, 2007 @ 10:21 pm
of course this is a load of self serving nonsense from the aviation industry. We wouldn’t expect pilots to vote themselves out of the sky, but it’s a shame they’ve distributed such a head in the sand so aggressively.
Ignore and continue to work with people who do actually want to do something.
Comment by Daaave — June 21, 2007 @ 3:26 pm
Oh my! Those guyes are crazy for sure!
Comment by Dude — June 21, 2007 @ 3:45 pm
Guys, do you really think it serves your “global” interests to uncritically reprint the BALPA press release? Do you think that mixed messages is going to help to convey your “cool” ethic? “Hey Jane Doe, change your lightbulbs or the polar bear gets it, but don’t worry about flying to the Caribbean, that thing about jets is a just myth” - If you don’t know enough to place the report in context then why not someone who does for comment? Kevin Anderson from the Tyndall Centre was on BBC radio for example.
Comment by JohnB — June 21, 2007 @ 4:30 pm
Why didn’t the eco warriors meet with Balpa to discuss this then? anyone can say rubbish like “of course this is a load of self serving nonsense from the aviation industry”
Comment by JonH — August 27, 2007 @ 2:29 pm