Revealed: the world’s greenest – and least green – airlines

A STUDY by Warwick Business School in England has revealed the world’s most and least polluting airlines. 

The research, which monitored airlines’ carbon emissions over a seven-year period, found that Finnair was the world’s greenest carrier, followed by TAP Portugal and Virgin Australia. At the opposite end of the scale, three major US carriers – American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines – were found to be the most polluting.

Dr Frederik Dahlmann of Warwick Business School, explained: ‘Finnair perform best due to the age and type of its planes, the routes it flies, and the overall number of connections it offers. Plus it is probably among the most advanced when it comes to accounting for and managing its emissions over time.’

But one issue of concern highlighted by the report is the fact that most airlines’ CO2 emissions do not appear to be declining despite the many steps being introduced by the industry to reduce its environmental footprint. In many cases they are increasing.

‘The data demonstrates that, for most airlines, emissions are either growing or stagnant; none are showing a significant reduction in CO2 emissions,’ said Dr Dahlmann. ‘This is despite many airlines introducing modern and more efficient planes to their fleet. The increasing number of flights, which is set to double by 2030, means cutting emissions is a real problem.’

The report did acknowledge that releasing data about carbon emissions is ‘entirely voluntary’, which was why the study was able to collect data from only 20 major airlines.

‘We need more airlines to publicly account for their emissions so that passengers can take emissions into consideration when arranging their travel plans,’ Dr Dahlmann said. But he added that while the data is incomplete, the information obtained demonstrates that the airline industry faces a ‘huge challenge… to meet its CO2 targets’, and ‘shows how much needs to be done to meet the new targets set by the industry bodies’.

The aviation industry currently produces around 2% of the world’s human-induced CO2 emissions, and this figure is predicted to grow to about 3% in 2050 if no action is taken.

Top 5 greenest

1. Finnair
2. TAP Portugal
3. Virgin Australia
4. SAS
5) easyJet

Least greenest 5 

16) Air France KLM
17) Lufthansa
18) United Airlines
19) Delta
20) American 

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Where to go for clean air

HOLIDAYMAKERS concerned about air quality when travelling abroad might be interested in a report by Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) which compares pollution levels in some of the world's most popular destinations. 

The research compares 28 cities in 19 countries highlighting their current Air Quality Index (AQI) in October 2015. 

The index is based on pollutants that have adverse effects on human health and the environment. Visitors are advised that if they are travelling to countries where the AQI is higher than 151, strenuous exercises or activities should be avoided.

Holidaymakers heading to the Middle East and Asia should be more cautious about travelling to Dubai in the UAE and Beijing in China. According to the research, Dubai has an AQI of 222, which is considered 'very unhealthy', while Beijing’s score is 328, described as 'hazardous'.

Luckily for travellers visiting destinations in Europe such as Paris, Venice, and Madrid, all three cities showed an AQI of 46 or below, which is considered good, posing little or no risk. Amsterdam’s score was 66, and London’s was 77.

The city with the lowest level of pollution was Bangkok, which recorded a figure of 18, followed by Washington DC at 24 and San Francisco at 25. 

The research can be found in the Know Before You Go section of the APH website at www.aph.com/airpollution.



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Brittany Ferries gets EU emissions grant, but says it’s not enough

BRITTANY FERRIES has received almost £5 million from the European Union to help pay for low-emission exhaust systems. The grant will be used to install “scrubber” systems on three of its ships to reduce sulphur emissions. 

But #BrittanyFerries says the money is not enough, with the overall cost for fitting scrubbers to its fleet of six ships calculated at £63 million.

The EU last year ordered fuel sulphur levels to be reduced from 3.5% to 0.1% by last January, on the back of recommendations by The International Maritime Organization.

A company spokesman told The Portsmouth News: ‘We are one among a number of ferry companies including DFDS and Stena Line to have received this grant. It is a contribution towards the capital cost of fitting scrubbers to three of our ships this coming winter – Pont Aven, Armorique, and Mont St Michel – and we have received nothing for the three ships already done. 

‘The grant falls far short of the cost of fitting scrubbers to six ships. It is only 8% of the total. It helps, but falls far short of the incremental cost we have had to bear.’

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Caribbean tourism trade concerned over stinking seaweed

THE #Caribbean #tourism trade is concerned that an increase in foul-smelling seaweed washing up on beaches could impact visitor numbers to the area in the long term.

Authorities across the region are providing emergency funding to clean up huge piles of the decaying seaweed, which authorities on Tobago are describing as a “natural disaster”, the Guardian has reported.

Sagassum seaweed – which attracts biting sand fleas and smells like rotten eggs – is reportedly covering larger and larger areas, from Mexico’s Caribbean resorts in the west to Barbados in the east and the #DominicanRepublic in the north.

With the region’s peak tourism period due to begin in a few months, some officials are calling for an emergency meeting of the Caribbean Community, concerned the occurrence could become a serious issue for tourism.

Christopher James, chairman of the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association, said: ‘This has been the worst year we’ve seen. We need to have a regional effort because this unsightly seaweed could end up affecting the image of the Caribbean.’

Guest houses along Tobago's east and west coasts have reportedly been receiving cancellations as a result of the seaweed.

Theories about what is causing the seaweed include rising ocean temperatures and changes in the currents due to climate change. Some researchers believe it is due to pollutants washing into the water.

Mexican authorities will spend £5.1 million and hire 4,600 workers to clean up seaweed mounds, with part of the money used to determine whether the sargassum can be collected before it reaches the shore.

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Sand in, trash out!

MALTA has imported 5,300 tonnes of sand from Jordan for St George’s Bay and Buġibba.

Meanwhile, 1,600 volunteers have collected 50 tonnes of waste from 50 sites across Malta and Gozo. Cigarette butts and other litter was collected from valleys, parks, and other public spaces.

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