BA to cut CO2 output by 50% by 2050

British Airways (BA) plans to halve its net carbon emissions by 2050, reducing its net carbon output from 16m tonnes in 2005 to eight million by mid-century.

The UK's flagship carrier, which operates 61 weekly flights from the Gulf to Heathrow, said yesterday the new target is the latest in a series of environmentally-conscious objectives introduced by the airline.

"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," said Willie Walsh, British Airways' Chief Executive Officer.

Despite commercial aviation contributing just two per cent of the world's carbon emissions, British Airways is also spearheading efforts to include the industry's output in the new global climate deal, set to replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012, the airline said in a statement.

Walsh said green policies were at the forefront of the company's strategy: "More than a decade ago, we became the first airline to publish fuel efficiency targets, and we have achieved an improvement of about 30 per cent since then."

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