By Paul Sillers, CNN
Gleaming airplanes have been returning to the empty blue skies above 30,000 feet in recent months, opening up travel possibilities as they skim the clouds on their way towards unfiltered sunshine.
On board, safely behind face masks, many passengers have been shrugging off the old discomforts of plane travel in their excitement at being in the air again. Airline food has never tasted so good.
And yet, something is leaving a bitter taste. The world is a changed place since we were last exploring it, and one of the main changes is the heightened concern we have for the damage we’ve been causing to it through activities such as flying.
Aviation generates 2.8% of global CO2 emissions and, even before the recent COP26 climate talks, has become a lightning rod for the “flight shame” movement.
On the heels of the climate summit agreement by 200 countries to slash greenhouse emissions by 2030, the industry has been steeling itself for a crisis…