Airlines Struggle to Rise to Climate Challenge

Published: Dec. 10, 2019, 5 a.m.

The airline industry has a plan to limit its carbon footprint. Will it deliver?
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The global air travel industry is growing rapidly, with the number of airline passengers projected to double in less than 20 years. Yet strong growth may not be entirely good news for the industry, which has come under scrutiny for its outsized carbon footprint in an age when concern over climate change is on the rise.

An expert on airline emissions looks at the uniquely difficult challenge airlines face in reducing greenhouse emissions even as ridership grows, and at whether an industry plan to hold emissions in check will in fact deliver. Guest Andrew Murphy, aviation manager at Brussels-based Transport and Environment, also explores the role air travel may play in helping or hindering countries in their efforts to fulfill national and international climate commitments, including those under the Paris Climate Accord.

Andrew Murphy is manager for aviation at Transport and Environment, an organization in Brussels, Belgium that works alongside industry and governments to reduce transportation emissions.

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