Airlines hindering efforts to reduce carbon emissions - climate watchdog

Europe's biggest airlines have been lobbying against measures to tighten carbon emissions after taking Covid-19 bailouts, according to a climate watchdog.

Influence Map said the sector is more focused on an increasingly discredited offsetting programme - which could slow down the real changes needed in the sector.

Airlines are also using the coronavirus crisis in an effort to delay taxes designed to push them into reducing emissions, InfluenceMap said.

Influence Map analyst Ben Youriev told Worldwatch that the European aviation sector is one of the strongest opponents to climate policy.

He said some airlines were publicly talking about sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) and the need to expand them across Europe.

However, in private they were lobbying EU policymakers to push back against more ambitious mandates for SAFs.

"Anti-climate lobbying in the aviation industry may pose a significant threat to both net-zero targets and the Paris Agreement as a whole," he said.

He said there was a duplicity between the public and private messages given by lobbyists.

Some airlines had paid to offset their emissions, but some had bought "cheap offsetting measures that don't necessarily reduce their emissions", he said.

The industry was not unique in the hurdles it faced to decarbonise, he said. "It is unique in its unified negative lobbying against key measures to decarbonise."

Influence Map assessed 10 airlines which received about 30 billion euros (more than $NZ50 billion) to deal with the impact of Covid-19 on international travel, Youriev said.

"There are no green conditions attached [to the funds], partly because the industry lobbied hard during the Covid-19 crisis to ensure none were attached."

Youriev said the industry needs to change its lobbying strategy.

Other sectors have accepted the need for increased regulations and seen the PR benefits.

He said more progressive business leaders need to take a stand.