Flight Shame: BBC Interview With Greta Thunberg Raises A Modern Dilemma

This morning in London, the BBC will broadcast its flagship news programme, Today, guest edited by Greta Thunberg, the 1environmental activist. To interview the 16-year-old campaigner, who tries to sail rather than fly or travel by car, the BBC flew over presenter Mishal Husain to Stockholm. 

This news merits a front-page story on The Sunday Times, which reports that Husain’s return flight is estimated to have generated half a ton of carbon dioxide per person. Programme editor Sarah Sands told the Sunday Times: "It felt awkward but we did not have the time for trains or boats." 

Sands has also referred to a conversation between Thunberg and Sir David Attenborough on the programme in which the latter ‘passed the baton of environmentalism onto her.’

Thunberg has changed attitudes towards flying, particularly in her home country, Sweden. Flgyskam - translated as flying shame - has hit passenger numbers at the country’s ten busiest airports, down by more than 5% this year. The number of people flying between German cities dropped 12% in November from a year earlier. But unless we know whether Swedes and Germans are just getting in their Volvos and Audis and burning down the Autobahn, we don't really know what the overall impact on the environment is.

It says something that the decision to fly a reporter to interview Thunberg was front page news. But it touches on a problem more and more people have with work; having to fly when really, you’d much rather not to because of the environment.

Husain had few alternatives - it takes three days by train and boat from London to Stockholm, and there isn’t a direct boat. In any case, large fossil-fuelled boats aren’t exactly great for the environment while a cruise ship would have almost certainly made matters worse. Cruise vessels are one of the most energy-intensive of all tourism activities, emitting significant quantities of pollutants including nitrous oxide, sulphur dioxide and particulate matter.

If you do have to fly for work, it helps if you select a new, fuel-efficient aircraft, and a direct flight since take-off is the most fuel-intensive and carbon generating part of the flight. Where you sit is also important: passengers sitting in business class generate proportionately more emissions, because they account for a larger proportion of the plane’s space.

Carbon emissions are only part of the story. For instance, a passenger on a domestic flight in the U.K. generates 133g of CO2 emissions over every kilometre travelled. By comparison, a diesel car with one passenger will generate 171g of emissions every kilometre. However, each airline passenger on a domestic flight will also emit 121g of secondary effect, high altitude emissions (the gases emitted at altitude as vapour trails) for every kilometre they fly, according to the the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

The airlines are trying hard to clean up - they have to, to stay in business. Earlier this year, EasyJet announced that it will spend tens of millions of pounds to buy carbon offsets to compensate for the carbon dioxide emitted by its flights. SAS intends to operate all internal Scandinavian flights on biofuel by 2030 and is working with Airbus on a joint research project to research electric and hybrid aircraft.

So what is the answer? Back in 1992, I interviewed David Attenborough for SAS’ inflight magazine, Scanorama. I noted how reluctant he was to over-simplify complex issues. There is a lesson there, I think. On Antarctica, for instance, he rejected the suggestion popular at that time that it should be protected, pointing out that there are people whose livelihoods and survival depend on making a living.“The Antarctic is so enormous….the question is whether it’s better to make a demand you know you can’t meet or go for a lesser theme.” 

Perhaps it makes more sense to tackle the lesser themes, the ones we can. As the title of Thunberg’s book says, No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference.

We can also be consistent. Waterstones, the bookseller, has made Thurnberg its author of the year. One evening last week, I went into a Daunt’s bookshop (a subsidiary) in West London, where both doors were wide open, and the heat was escaping out onto the pavement. Inside, the store had promoted Thurnberg’s book. It was so cold I abandoned any thoughts of browsing, explaining to the assistant why I was leaving. “I’m sorry, “ he said, “I’d really like to shut the doors, but I am not allowed to. I’m freezing. It’s crazy. And yes, you can quote me.”

No Business Is Too Small To Make A Difference.