Do The Airlines Have A Credible Program To Cut Their CO2 Levels?

Do The Airlines Have A Credible Program To Cut Their CO2 Levels?

Share to Linkedin The airline industry contributes about 2% of all global greenhouse gas emissions — a small amount, which could spike if the sector's attempts to cut CO2 levels are unsuccessful. Do the airlines have a feasible solution? The airliners are buying credits based on a promise to "avoid emissions" in the future by investing in projects to stop deforestation. The catch? The emissions cuts are promised but have yet to happen. That is far different from supporting programs with "actual emission reductions." The former evaluates projects and issues credits based on potential emission cuts. The latter examines historical results, calculating the trees left standing and how much CO2 they have already captured. "The industry is creating a whole system of smoke and mirrors that accomplishes nothing because it is not part of a global accounting system," says Kevin Conrad, executive director of the Coalition for Rainforest Nations. "This entire mechanism is not about reducing. It is about avoiding. Even then, it is full of holes." Avoiding emissions is a dubious accounting method — saving trees in one place but cutting them down and releasing CO2 elsewhere. It's a "patchwork system" that hides the accurate results. But why? Credits