The World in 2030

136 The World in 2030
But completely new aircraft will take many years to
design, test and build and, in the meantime, something
must be done urgently to reduce emissions produced
by aviation.
The simple fact is that if we are to meet the IPCC’s
emissions reductions targets, carbon has to be taxed at the
point where it is emitted (i.e. taxing the airlines as they fly).
The money raised must be used to undertake very largescale
tree planting (an excellent low-tech way of combating
climate change – especially as young, rapidly growing
forests absorb far more CO 2
than mature forests) and to
hasten the development of biofuels (where appropriate)
and the development of renewable and sustainable clean
energy sources.
Strong carbon taxation will slow aviation’s growth (as a
recent tax hike on UK aviation 273 is proving) and those of us
who bought second homes abroad (not me) because of cheap
airline fares will, unfortunately, feel some pain. Business
travel may be reduced (or at least, not grow so quickly) and
some cargo may transfer to the shipping lanes. There is no
alternative.
What we must do about Climate Change
There are as many prescriptions for saving the planet as
there are concerned ‘environmentalists’ and the challenge is
so vast, so important, that political agendas invariably shape
many of the proposals.