BA pledges 50% CO2 cut by 2050
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British Airways (BA) has unveiled a radical new environmental target of halving net CO2 emissions by 2050.
The target, the most ambitious set by any airline, means that BA will reduce its net carbon output from 16 million tonnes in 2005 to 8 million by mid-century.
The airline’s Chief Executive, Willie Walsh, announced the new objective in Hyderabad, India, to which British Airways has just opened a new route from London Heathrow.
Walsh said; “Some people say that in economic times as desperately tough as these, we can afford to put climate change issues on one side. I could not disagree more. Halving net CO2 by 2050 is an extremely challenging target. But it is one I am sure we can achieve.
“We will make progress through investment in cleaner aircraft, use of alternative fuels, more efficient flight routings and the spread of emissions trading from Europe to the whole world. We have taken climate change issues very seriously for a long time. More than a decade ago, we became the first airline to publish fuel efficiency targets – and we have achieved an improvement since then of almost 3%.
“We are the only airline to have experience of emissions trading, and we have helped fund research into lower-carbon aviation fuels. We are currently working closely with Rolls-Royce to develop alternative fuel opportunities.”
In a speech to the Indian School of Business, Walsh also warned that economic recovery in the UK was at least two years away.
“At the moment, I would expect things to continue getting worse rather than better,” Walsh said.
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