British Airways sets ambitious emissions target

British Airways has announced the very ambitious environmental target of cutting its carbon emissions in half by the year 2050.

The target represents the most ambitious effort by any airline to date, and means that BA will reduce its net carbon output to eight million tonnes, from the 16 million tonnes of output recorded in 2005.

Willie Walsh, the chief executive of the airline, made the announcement in Hyderabad where the carrier was launching a new route connecting the Indian city with 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.”

He went on to say: “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.”

Walsh stressed that BA has been taking climate change seriously for a number of years, and noted that the airline was the first to publish fuel efficiency targets, more than 10 years ago. Since that time, the carrier improved its performance by nearly 30 per cent, he added.

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www.britishairways.com