Qantas boss Alan Joyce says customers are willing to pay for his airline’s efforts to cut carbon emissions in the short term, but government investment could quickly bring the cost of greener fuel options into line with planet-heating fossil fuels.
But it currently accounts for less than 1 per cent of global fuel usage due to limited supply and expense, generally costing two- to four-times as much as conventional fuel. There is currently no local production. Mr Joyce said customers had already shown a willingness to pay for greener flying options, with about 11 per cent of passengers voluntarily paying to offset their emissions, and corporate clients already asking for ways to reduce the “scope 3” emissions produced when their staff fly.
Susanne Becken, a professor of sustainable tourism at Griffith University, said Qantas’ emissions strategy was comprehensive and ambitious by global standards. But she said the airline should set absolute emissions reductions targets, as well as a net target that relied heavily on offsets.