European jet-setting on the rise
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What European industry has the fastest-growing carbon emissions? You might guess the auto industry or coal power -- when, in fact, the reigning champion is air travel. With emissions growing at a rate of 5% each year according to the Europe Environment Agency, the airline business is booming, and the shock waves are causing lots of anxiety for environmental watchdogs.Despite high fuel costs, the intense competition from low-fare airlines continues to keep prices down, opening the skies to a whole new class of jet-setters. Weekenders from the UK can hop on a plane bound for sunny southern Spain for about €50 with tax ($78), sometimes catching fares as low a €10 if they book way in advance. Given the recent hubbub over jet emissions, you can see why this trend is getting the attention of Europe's climate scientists.
Here are some numbers to put this jet-setting boom in perspective. In 2005, about 60 million Europeans took advantage of these low-fare deals. By 2007, that number had doubled to 120 million. That trend is supposed to cool down, mind you, on account of higher fuel prices, but by no means do industry reps expect it to stop.
Aside from the base level of emissions from the extra flights, there is another residual effect that green-minded Europeans are worried about. As tourism spikes, condo construction is stretching out over greater expanses of popular tourist areas -- creating long-term environmental impacts on each destination. Guess Greenpeace didn't ruin the Spanish tourism industry after all.
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