LAST weekend’s appalling carnage in Bali means airlines are once again bracing themselves for hard times. Yet if 11 September is a guide, any slump in air travel will be a blip.
Global air traffic has quadrupled since 1970 and is forecast to more than double again by 2015. Result? Air transport is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. Though only 3.5 per cent at present, aviation’s share of emissions could exceed 10 per cent by 2050. So what are governments and international bodies doing? Precious little.
Taxing jet fuel is banned by an international treaty dating back…
