UK Government Urges Public to Keep Travelling as Flights Become More Environmentally Friendly

emissions free flights

Amid a growing appetite among the collective for increased sustainability, the UK government has encouraged the British public to keep flying – as part of a plan to reduce transport emissions to virtually zero by 2050.

A high value target to environmental groups, flying – alongside driving – has been highlighted as a method of travel that needs to be curbed significantly if the UK is to meet its ambitious climate targets. However, government ministers are claiming that new technology in the air travel industry will allow domestic flights to be almost emissions-free by 2040, with international flights to follow suit by the middle of the century.

Such claims have drawn ire from environmental protestors, who believe the government’s reassurances are based on blind faith in innovation rather than fact.

The problem of transport

According to the BBC, transport is responsible for 27% of the UK’s emissions, making it the single biggest emitting sector domestically. Flying accounts for 7% of overall emissions, but the government hopes that its grandiose carbon emission plans with eliminate these issues sooner rather than later.

It is the state’s “ten-point plan” for a green industrial revolution that provides a basis for these claims. Among the ten defining points of change include accelerating the shift towards zero emission vehicles, advancing green energy production to a point where it can be relied upon solely and the implementation of green ships and planes – the latter of which carries the tagline “jet zero”.

For all the positive talk, critics are largely cynical when it comes to the aviation claims, with Green Party MP Caroline Lucas describing the government’s approach as a “flight of fantasy”. Meanwhile, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has been keen to focus elsewhere than aviation, claiming road transport – which accounts for over 90% of UK travel-related emissions – is the much bigger problem at hand.

How likely are the government’s plans to come to fruition?

While the government language around travel is hopeful, it’s fair to say they face a mammoth task in achieving the goals they’ve set out. Their green plan aims to make the UK a global leader in sustainability, but there are a number of concerns already being raised against the stated timelines.

In the car industry, for example, the current complete domestic absence of electric battery producing gigafactories is a huge problem, with the UK already well behind world leaders Germany and the US. Greenhouse gas emissions are also comfortably off track against where the green plan states the UK should be.

There is also the question of business participation in the initial stages of environmental overhaul, with many small businesses, although cognisant of the benefits of implementing more sustainable infrastructure, reluctant to pull the trigger on expensive green changes. Additional investment, or the encouragement for businesses to take on small business loans to enact these changes, may be advisable for the greater good.

For now, though, the tone of officials is likely to remain positive, with seemingly plenty of time to play catch up in the green race. For sceptics, however, positive language in the absence of palpable progress is unlikely to impress.