Madam, - I agree with aviation industry spokesman Robert J Aaronson (September 17th) that to combat global warming we should not focus narrowly on aviation. However, the aviation industry must accept its fair share of carbon emissions cuts.
George Monbiot in his book Heat presents the case that we need to make a 90 per cent reduction in overall carbon emissions by 2030. He proposes per capita carbon quotas and shows how these reductions can be made across all sectors including housing, electricity and transport.
So, we need to make a 90 per cent cut in aviation emissions. Small improvements in fuel efficiency, while welcome, will be greatly outweighed by any growth in airports and routes. In short, we need to fly less. This means no weekend shopping trips to New York, videoconferencing instead of flying to business meetings, fewer foreign holidays.
Instead, we should save our carbon emissions for getting together with distant family and friends for the really important events in life. - Yours, etc,
DAVID O'CALLAGHAN,
Inglewood Drive,
Clonsilla,
Dublin 15.