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JetBlue aims to be first US carbon neutral airline
JetBlue Airways plans to become the first US based carbon neutral airline.
It said it plans to offset the carbon impact on all domestic flights by July 2020.
This will offset an extra 17 billion pounds of emissions each year, which it claims is equivalent to taking 1.5 million passenger vehicles off the road.
The offsetting initiatives will range from forest conservation and landfill gas capture projects as well investments in solar and wind power.
JetBlue says it has bought more than 2.6 billion pounds of carbon dioxide offsets since 2008.
It also plans to buy sustainable jet fuel from Finland-based Neste for flights out of San Francisco International Airport.
Other carriers such as Delta and United offset but JetBlue aims to be the first to fully offset its carbon emissions, at least for domestic flights.
It hasn’t said if it plans to do the same for international flights in the future or how much the offsetting scheme will cost.
The airline says it will not hike prices as a result.
"We reduce where we can and offset where we can’t. By offsetting all of our domestic flying, we’re preparing our business for the lower-carbon economy that aviation – and all sectors – must plan for," said CEO Robin Hayes.
There are contrasting views about the effectiveness of carbon offsetting, which is viewed as little more than green-washing by some environmental groups as it does nothing to actually reduce a company’s emissions or encourage them to seek alternatives to fossil fuels.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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