1. Flying High

It's a long, long flight from Sweden to Australia. Some 30 hours from door to door and over 20 hours in the air. This time it was from Copenhagen to Doha to Melbourne. It seems airlines in the Middle East are starting to grow their fleets, destinations and customers, which is probably similar in many parts of the world.

While the GHG emissions associated with flying are relatively small compared to other industries, they are growing quickly, and airlines are very sensitive to prices changes in fuel, so there is quite a lot of action in the airline industry around how to be as efficient as possible and the development of alternative fuels.

On my flights from Sweden to Australia a few ideas rushed through my head about airlines, GHG emissions and what the future holds for this industry in a world with higher fuel prices? As I work in the biofuels area, I know there is a lot going on to explore possibilities to produce suitable fuels for planes. This is an area of considerable activity.

I remember I was once given a survey on a plane about how to reduce GHG emissions or offset such emissions? Today, most airline companies offer passengers the opportunity to tick a box and offset emissions associated with their flight. I wrote that this box should be pre-ticked and customers would then have to un-tick the box ... I wonder just how much a different this might make?

I have flown out of Copenhagen airport many times, and spotted posters proclaiming that the airport has drastically reduced its GHG emissions. This is of course impressive for any company or large buildings. But what is patently obvious is that Copenhagen airport is not including the flights in its emissions inventory ... of course it is the planes that make up the vast bulk of GHG emissions when talking about the airline industry. 

And this final thought about Copenhagen airport reminded me about how the Mayor of London took the courageous decision to include the GHG emissions from airports and flights in its GHG emissions accounting for the city. A bold and correct decision that reflects the reality of challenges facing large cities that are based around the movement of people.

That's it for now!