SYDNEY – The Qantas Group will double the number of flights being offset, cap net emissions from 2020 onwards and invest $50 million over the next decade starting from today, in a bid to commit to net zero emissions by 2050.
The industry has already come a long way in cutting its footprint and the solution from here isn’t to simply ‘fly less’ but to make it more sustainable,– Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce
“We want to do more, and faster,” said Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce. “We’re effectively doubling our carbon offsetting programme from today and we’re capping our net emissions across Qantas and Jetstar from 2020 so that all new flying will be carbon neutral.”
To develop these long-term solutions to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the next three decades, Qantas said it will work with industry, research institutions and governments.
How will they offset more flights?
Currently, around 10% of Qantas’ customers booking flights on Qantas.com choose to offset their flights.
From today, Qantas and Jetstar will double the number of flights offset by matching ever dollar spent by customers who tick the box to fly carbon neutral to encourage more people to opt for this option.
Where are the investments going towards?
According to Qantas, $50 million will be invested over the next decade to help develop a sustainable aviation fuel, which can reduce carbon emissions by 80% compared to traditional jet fuel, but are currently almost double the price.
“We know from our own trials that the technology works but we need to get to a scale of production where it’s a practical substitute,” commented Mr Joyce.
To do so, the national carrier will work with governments and private sector partners to support the development of sustainable aviation in Australia as well as abroad.
At the same time, the airline said it will continue to invest in more fuel-efficient aircraft, more efficient operations such as single-engine taxing, and smarter flight planning to reduce fuel burn.
Qantas is on track to replace its Boeing 747 fleet by the end of 2020 with the more fuel-efficient B787 Dreamliners, which is said to burn 20% less fuel than aircraft of a similar size.
Jetstar’s A321neo (LR) aircraft, which begin arriving next year, use 15% less fuel than the aircraft they are replacing.
“The industry has already come a long way in cutting its footprint and the solution from here isn’t to simply ‘fly less’ but to make it more sustainable,” said Mr Joyce.
“We’re doing this because it’s the responsible thing to do, but hopefully it will also encourage more people to choose Qantas and Jetstar because of the action we’re taking.”