Sir Richard Branson5 May 2010
Money talks, Sir Richard Branson
Britain's best known entrepreneur is injecting a cool £1.6 billion into reducing our use of fossil fuels. That's a whole lot of money!
Tripping and Shipping
Moving people and goods around by air is one of the major sources of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Sir Richard knows that this must be reduced rapidly. The money is to go into renewable fuels and to start design of CO2 neutral aircrafts.
It's up to companies in transportation to develop the technology.
Why fly at all?
Sir Richard doesn't think there is a real alternative to people flying internationally. But, he does think that people should stop flying within their country.
Domestic air travel is twice as damaging as international air travel. People should think twice before flying domestically.
Trains are becoming more energy efficient, faster and a real threat to air travel.
Lobbying the airports
Airports can reduce wasting fuel. Sir Richard is asking airports to do this in several ways.
If they tow planes into position the engines are used less. Pilots can save fuel by not thrusting engines during landing.
Leading by example
If we take a responsible attitude to leadership in this industry, we hope to be able to force change.
Sir Branson hopes that his direct action will send an important message to businesses around the world.
He says that the Government also has to show leadership by embracing every form of renewable energy.
© Adam Bradbury/Friends of the Earth
