In this episode of our ‘Sustainability in the Air’ podcast, Alethea Warrington, Senior Campaigner at Possible, speaks with SimpliFlying’s CEO Shashank Nigam. Possible is a UK-based climate charity that enables people to take practical action on climate change.
Formerly known as 10:10 Climate Action, Possible has been at the forefront of climate action and has been instrumental in lodging formal complaints of greenwashing against airlines like Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. The charity, along with other climate groups has also taken the UK government to court over its Jet Zero strategy.
“We’re not saying no one can ever fly. We’re certainly not saying no one can ever go on holiday. We’re saying let’s all collectively do more train travel. Let’s cut back on unnecessary flights.”
Here are the key highlights of the conversation:
Why climate activists are angry with the aviation industry (2:09)
Inequality in air travel and the frequent flyer levy (3:00)
Climate targets and industry performance (11:20)
Possible’s legal actions against greenwashing (12:58)
The Virgin Atlantic 100% SAF flight (14:45)
Possible’s call for a ban on private jets (24:05)
Managing demand to meet UK’s climate targets (28:10)
Global inequality and the right to fly (37:40)
The need for systemic change (52:10)
UK’s Jet Zero strategy and legal challenges (58:20)
Rapid Fire! (1:02:15)
Keep reading for a quick overview of the episode.
Why demand reduction of flights matters
Warrington believes that the aviation industry’s current approach to sustainability is dramatically insufficient. She points out the limitations of the current decarbonisation solutions – more efficient aircraft, sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), hydrogen and electric aircraft – and remains sceptical about their scalability and effectiveness.
Warrington argues that efficiency improvements in conventional aircraft have reached a point of diminishing returns, while hydrogen and electric aircraft face significant technological barriers, particularly for long-haul flights. Even if electric planes become viable at some point in time, she notes they would still be less energy-efficient than surface transport. Warrington also expresses concern about the enormity of resources, both natural and monetary, that would be needed to make these solutions a reality.
Moreover, given the urgency of the climate crisis, it seems unlikely that these technologies can be developed and implemented in time. Even if some breakthrough technologies were to emerge, replacing the entire global fleet and retrofitting airports would be a very slow, expensive process.
Given the state of affairs and the sheer lack of solutions, the aviation industry cannot continue its business-as-usual strategy of pursuing growth on the pretext of a distant promise of zero-emissions flying, which may possibly not materialise. Hence, demand reduction remains the only pragmatic way to cut aviation’s share of emissions.
“I struggle to see any way of flying within the next few decades that is not going to produce a huge amount of emissions. Realistically, it’s not likely, which is why we keep coming back to demand constraint.”
4 takeaways from the conversation
1. Climate targets and industry performance
In 2022, Possible published a report that examined the aviation industry’s history of setting its own climate-related targets, which included improved efficiency and the rollout of alternative aviation fuels.
The report concluded that out of 50 climate targets set by airlines in the past 20 years, only one had been met. The others had either been missed, abandoned or just forgotten about.
Warrington suggests two reasons for these failures:
The targets were difficult to reach due to technological and economic constraints.
The targets were primarily a form of greenwashing, and there wasn’t a genuine intent or effort to fulfil them.
“I think the broader reason that [the aviation industry] didn't reach those targets is because those targets weren’t things that they ever particularly cared about meeting or intended to meet. They were essentially a form of greenwashing, a way to say to the public and to the regulators that there was no need for policies to constrain demand or [the need for] climate action against the aviation industry because they had a plan and everything was fine, and we should continue to buy tickets because they could technically fix their way out of this problem while continuing to grow.”
2. Addressing the inequity in air travel
Warrington highlights the inequality in air travel in the UK – just 15% of people take 70% of flights annually, with half the population not taking any flights at all. She supports the idea of a frequent flyer levy, to progressively tax individuals on the number of flights they take.
Warrington also acknowledges the global inequity in emissions responsibility between developed and developing countries. Noting the rising demand for aviation in developing countries, she agrees that it would be unfair for people in wealthier countries to continue flying while asking developing countries to cut back, especially since developed nations have historically emitted a greater share of carbon into the atmosphere.
However, Warrington emphasises that there’s a finite global carbon budget for aviation that affects all countries, and it needs to be distributed fairly and equitably between people and countries. She suggests that to allow developing nations, especially their first-time flyers, to experience air travel, frequent flyers from developed countries must significantly reduce their air travel.
“What that means is that frequent flyers have to have to fly less. And if what you want is for somebody in India who has never flown to be able to take a flight, then the reality is that frequent flyers have to cut back.”
3. Legal actions and greenwashing claims
Warrington discusses the legal complaints filed by Possible against British Airways and Virgin Atlantic for alleged greenwashing. These complaints were made using the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) mechanism designed to protect consumers against misleading claims by companies. Possible’s complaints focused on the airlines’ plans to curb their emissions and the effectiveness of the current measures being undertaken by the airlines.
Warrington states the airlines’ claims were not supported by evidence and were potentially misleading. Ordinary people lack the time and resources to thoroughly investigate the complexities of aviation sustainability. When confronted with airline ads claiming that flying with them addresses their climate impacts, or that their offsets “have got this under control,” consumers may be misled about the true environmental cost of their travel, she adds.
Possible is also taking legal action against the UK government over its Jet Zero strategy, as it fails to adequately address climate change, says Warrington. While she acknowledges some positive aspects, such as the overall ambition and some accountability mechanisms, she identifies several major flaws:
The accountability mechanisms are too slow and lack enforcement.
It allows for a 50% increase in passenger numbers, which will lead to an increase in absolute emissions.
It relies on the maturity and scaleup of carbon removal technologies by 2050, without addressing the huge costs and challenges in implementation.
4. The need for systemic change in travel infrastructure
Warrington calls for a shift in the global travel infrastructure to address the climate crisis. She advocates for a shift towards more train travel, electric coaches, and other low-carbon transportation options.
She also emphasises the need for more affordable and accessible train travel, particularly for popular holiday destinations from the UK to Europe. With improved rail infrastructure, people wouldn’t have to resort to flying and could still experience the joy of travelling.
“The entire global travel infrastructure has to change in the same way that the global energy system has to change. The way that we all heat our homes has to change. Globally for a lot of people, diets will have to change as well.”
‘Sustainability in the Air’ is the world’s leading podcast dedicated to sustainable aviation. Through in-depth conversations with top aviation leaders, we break through the clutter and provide a clear roadmap for a net-zero future.
