Scientists warn of the warming effect of air travel

Scientists today warned that air travel was having a major impact on the problem of global warming.

For every 4,000 miles flown by each air traveller, one tonne of carbon dioxide pollution – the main “greenhouse gas” contributing to climate change - is produced from the plane’s fuel.

According to environmental charity Environ, a modern jet puts its emissions into the atmosphere at 30,000 feet above sea level. As well as carbon dioxide, these emissions include nitrous oxide and water vapour, which at such a height cause twice as much global warming as the carbon dioxide.

Research is being carried out to find alternative fuels for air travel. These could be made from plants and other organic material.

These “bio-fuels” would be carbon dioxide neutral because all the gas released during burning was absorbed by the plants during growth.

Anyone using a car, public transport or electricity is indirectly helping produce more carbon dioxide.

The biggest creators of carbon dioxide are developed nations because they tend to be more industrialised.

According to transport campaigners Railfuture, moving a tonne of freight one kilometre by rail produces 80% less carbon dioxide than moving it by road.

The group also says that more carbon dioxide is produced for each passenger on a return flight to Florida than a car driven for a year by the average motorist in the UK.

Scientists warn that if pollution caused by greenhouse gases is allowed to continue, flooding and droughts will increase.

America has angered the rest of the world by refusing to sign up to the Kyoto agreement which sets a legally binding reduction in green house gases.

The International Development Committee claimed this year that 25 million people are being made homeless by floods and droughts caused by global warming.