Richard Branson in Virgin blog: “Working hard to reduce our carbon footprint.”

Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, has shared his ideas about sustainable aviation in a personal blog on the Virgin.com website. Before outlining in the blog what SkyTeam partner Virgin Atlantic is doing to lower its CO₂ footprint, Branson expresses his surprise on a newspaper clipping from 1912, that warned the world of the negative impact of burning coal on our climate and environment.

“A friend of mine sent me a newspaper clipping that explained the impact of fossil fuels on the climate in the most simple and straightforward way”, Branson begins his blog. Quoting from the newspaper report on what massive burning coal can do to the world: “This tends to make the air a more effective blanket for the earth and to raise its temperature. The effect may be considerable in a few centuries.”

Not centuries, but decades

"As we now know”, Branson continues, “this greenhouse effect hasn’t taken centuries, but decades." According to Branson, Virgin Group, and Virgin Atlantic in particular, have a huge role to play. “We are working hard to reduce our carbon footprint. Virgin Atlantic is a good example, as it has invested billions into becoming the cleanest and youngest twin engine fleet in the sky. In fact, its entire fleet now consists of twin engine aircraft. For years, the airline has also been pushing the development of sustainable aviation fuels and is investing in some ground-breaking research, innovation and new technologies that will help it achieve its net-zero target.”

Branson ends his blog with a message: “For anyone we might know who is still doubting the causes of climate change, hopefully this simple messaging from over a century ago can help.”