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Airlines Promise 50 Per Emissions Reduction By 2050

Fri, 25 Sep 2009

The global airline industry has pledged to cut carbon emissions by 50 per cent over the next 40 years.

Speaking at a United Nations forum on climate change in New York this week, British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh announced that 230 IATA-member airlines have agreed to a deal to halve their carbon emissions by 2050.

The agreement, which is also being supported by plane manufacturers, air traffic control providers and airports, also includes a target to improve CO2 efficiency by 1.5 per cent a year, leading to carbon-neutral growth by 2020.

The announcement comes ahead of the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit 2009, which will be held in December and is expected to be attended by over 200 government leaders, environmentalists and businessmen from around the globe.

Walsh said: "The forthcoming Copenhagen summit represents a historic opportunity for aviation to join the mainstream of the world's efforts to combat climate change."

"International aviation emissions were not included in the Kyoto Protocol 12 years ago. Now we have a chance to rectify that omission - and we must seize it."

"Our proposals represent the most environmentally effective and practical means of reducing aviation's carbon impact. They are the best option for the planet, and we urge the UN to adopt them."

IATA environment director Paul Steele added that the aviation industry is "united in its support for a global sectoral approach to emissions reduction".
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