BA pledge to cut net CO2 by 50 per cent by 2050

British Airways has unveiled a radical new environmental target of halving net CO2 emissions by 2050. The target, the most ambitious set by any airline, means that British Airways will reduce its net carbon output from 16 million tonnes in 2005 to eight million by mid-century.

Willie Walsh, the airline's chief executive, announced the new objective in Hyderabad, to which British Airways has just opened a new route from London Heathrow.

He said: "Some people say that in economic times as desperately tough as these, we can afford to put climate change issues on one side. I could not disagree more.

"Halving net CO2 by 2050 is an extremely challenging target. But it is one I am sure we can achieve.

"We will make progress through investment in cleaner aircraft, use of alternative fuels, more efficient flight routings and the spread of emissions trading from Europe to the whole world.

"We have taken climate change issues very seriously for a long time. More than a decade ago, we became the first airline to publish fuel efficiency targets - and we have achieved an improvement since then of almost 30 per cent.

"We are the only airline to have experience of emissions trading, and we have helped fund research into lower-carbon aviation fuels. We are currently working closely with Rolls-Royce to develop alternative fuel opportunities."

In a speech to the Indian School of Business, Mr Walsh also warned that economic recovery in the UK was at least two years away.

He said: "For us in the UK, the outlook is certainly no easier than anywhere else. Because of the high importance of the financial services sector, it is perhaps a bleaker outlook than in other countries.

"At the moment, I would expect things to continue getting worse rather than better.

"I cannot see the bottom of this crisis yet. There is some distance to go, and I would expect this very difficult environment to last for at least another 24 months."

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