Chiefs

Airline industry claimed science not 'robust' enough to implement new controls to combat climate warming caused by vapour trails.

A spokesperson for Sustainable Aviation said: “UK aviation recognises that non-CO2 impacts need to be better understood and tackled, and supports further research. [special report](https://www.ipcc.ch/report/aviation-and-the-global-atmosphere-2/?idp=4) in 1999 that the historic impact of aviation on the climate was two to four times greater than from its CO2 emissions alone. Rob Bryher, aviation campaigner at climate charity Possible, said: “These documents show that airlines cannot be trusted to decarbonise on their own. The official tool of the International Civil Aviation Organisation to calculate emissions also does not include contrails in its methodology. The industry argued in government submissions that the science was not “robust” enough to justify reduction targets for these non-CO2 emissions. It means people who wish to offset the environmental impact of their flights get significantly different prices.