British Airways Starts Offsetting Carbon Emissions on All Flights Within UK

British Airways started offsetting carbon emissions on all its flights within the UK on 1 January 2020, as part of a commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Customers flying within the UK on flights operated by British Airways will have the carbon emissions from their flights offset by the airline and invested in carbon reduction projects around the world. These will include projects such as renewable energy, protection of rainforests and reforestation programmes.

British Airways operates up to 75 flights a day between London and 10 UK cities including Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Isle of Man, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Belfast, Inverness and Jersey.

Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and Chief Executive, said, “We know that air travel continues to grow, but we also know that our future has to be sustainable. Solving the complex issue of climate change requires a multifaceted response, and offsetting emissions on all flights within the UK is just one step that we are adopting to reduce our environmental impact while more solutions to decarbonise are found. Our emissions reductions projects are carefully chosen to ensure they are proven and deliver real carbon emissions reductions as well as economic, social and environmental benefits.”

Other initiatives the airline is undertaking include flying more fuel-efficient aircraft, investing in sustainable aviation fuel and changing operating procedures, in addition to working with stakeholders and governments to strengthen global climate policy.

The airline and its parent company, IAG are expected to invest a total of $400m on alternative sustainable fuel development over the next 20 years.

“We continue to invest heavily in new aircraft that are 25% to 40% more fuel efficient than the aircraft they replace. We are also leading the way in the development of sustainable aviation fuel and have signed a partnership with renewable fuels company Velocys, to build a plant which will convert household and commercial waste into renewable sustainable jet fuel to power our fleet, a first for the UK and the first time an airline has done this in Europe,” added Mr. Cruz.

Customers flying beyond the UK can reduce their impact on the environment by using British Airways’ carbon offsetting tool. The tool enables customers to calculate their emissions and make their flight carbon neutral by choosing from verified carbon reduction projects in Peru, Sudan and Cambodia through its partnership with not-for-profit charity Pure Leapfrog.

Using the tool, a customer will pay around £1 to offset a return flight from London to Madrid, travelling in economy, while from London to New York in business class will cost around £15.

See also: Waste, Single-Use Plastic and Climate Change - Interview with WWF.

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