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Flying Green

21/09/2019 GMT

Flying green

BBC World Service - Global Business, Flying green

Can aviation become sustainable? Katie Prescott asks if a tech fix can be found.

Can aviation become sustainable? Katie Prescott explores whether technological advances - in powering green flight - can keep us airborne with a clear conscience.

Flying, for many of us, is now routine. For a few of us it is a weekly, maybe even daily, event. At the same global protests, concerned with the pressing danger of climate change and the need to reduce CO2 emissions, are gaining attention and causing alarm. So, will we ever get to a point where we can indulge our flying habit and our keep our conscience clear? 
Katie Prescott talks to the flight refuseniks and assesses the impact they are having. Is the long term solution to change minds or can technological advances provide a fix? Electric cars are here; small planes are already powered the same way. How long until sizeable passenger jets follow? At a number of airports around the world, planes can fill up with bio-fuels. But the take up is extremely modest. While the oil price stays low, what's the incentive for airlines to go green? 

Presenter: Katie Prescott
Producer: Rosamund Jones

Picture: Newark International Airport
Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

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