As I briefly mentioned yesterday, international aviation CO2 emissions are not counted in national totals.

Basically, they’re free emissions that no-one takes responsibility for.

But they still exist, and they still warm the planet.

From the Guardian:

“International flights taking off from the UK must be taken into account in the government’s calculations on reaching net zero emissions as part of a “green” recovery for the airline industry, a transport thinktank has urged.

“The government has given loan bailouts to airlines totalling £1.5bn since the coronavirus outbreak, with no environmental conditions attached.”

No environmental conditions!

Worse:

“Ryanair is the latest company to secure a £600m loan from the scheme, despite its chief executive, Michael O’Leary’s outspoken condemnation of such bailouts across Europe as uncompetitive state aid. British Airways secured a £300m loan and EasyJet received £600m.”

The day those Ryanair fuckers go bankrupt will be celebrated in my household like a national holiday.

Back to reality:

“The government should ensure international aviation and shipping emissions are including within the net zero target,” said Greg Archer, the UK director of Transport and Environment. “The aviation industry is currently relying on buying cheap, unreliable offsets for its emissions. This is no solution to avoiding a climate catastrophe.”

This is not rocket science.

What country will be the first brave enough to say, “We will take ownership of all outgoing flight CO2 emissions”?

How about you, New Zealand?