Cheapflights has hit out at the shipping industry for its impact on the environment after the leak of a UN study on CO2 emissions.
The study calculates that the shipping industry is responsible for 1.12bn tonnes of CO2 emissions, which accounts for 4.5% of all global emissions.
By comparison, Cheapflights said emissions caused by aviation amount to just over 650m tones.
Cheapflights’ CEO David Soskin said: “It’s about time people woke up to the environmental dangers of shipping.
“We at Cheapflights have been raising awareness on the subject for years, but environmental lobbyists have kept the focus on airlines, using them as an easy target instead of heeding our warnings on other culprits.”
He said the airline industry has taken “great strides towards the introduction of environmentally friendly aircraft, such as the Boeing Dreamliner and Airbus 380, both of which use 20% less fuel”.
“Additional industry-wide measures are also underway addressing greenhouse gas emissions by aircraft, including a recent flight trial between British Airways and Shell using less polluting aviation fuels,” he added.
By Bev Fearis
