An AAP and The Australian report says that the pollution emitted by Qantas aircraft will be offset partly by a carbon-credit program to be launched next month.
Qantas executive general manager John Borghetti announced that consumers and businesses would be able to purchase carbon credits to offset their carbon dioxide emissions.
Mr Borghetti did not elaborate on how much the offsets would increase the price of a ticket, but Qantas would cover the charge for its first day of the scheme’s operation.
“For the first 24 hours we will totally fund the emissions on our domestic and international operations,” Mr Borghetti said.
“The environmental programs we will be supporting through this initiative have been independently verified and authenticated by the Australian Greenhouse Office,” Mr Borghetti said yesterday.
The reduction programs were selected because they reduced carbon dioxide emissions or allowed an equivalent amount of CO2 to be removed or prevented from entering the atmosphere.
Mr Borghetti defended the aviation industry from criticism that it was a big greenhouse polluter.
“We’ve got to remember that aviation only contributes 2 per cent of the total CO2 emissions in the world, and contributes about 8 per cent of world economic activity,” he said.
Report by The Mole
