When an estimated 20,000 people arrive in Glasgow for the UN climate change conference this weekend, they will draw inevitable jibes about the tonnes of carbon emitted by the aircraft many fly in on.
The airline industry, acknowledging the problem, this month pledged to reach net zero flying by 2050. But the “sustainable aviation fuel” that forms the core of its strategy is scarce, costs multiples of petroleum-based jet fuel and in some cases may cause changes in cropland that undercut emissions goals, analysts say.
Flying is one of the hardest industries to decarbonise and technologies such as electricity- or hydrogen-powered aircraft are years from carrying a plane full of people over long distances. Commercial aviation accounts up to 5 per cent of global warming and its travel growth is “unparalleled” by any other mode of transport, led by middle-class and white-collar flyers in developing and emerging economies, according to the International Energy Agency.