There’s no arguing that the climate emergency has risen to frightening levels, and it won’t be long before everyday life starts experiencing its imminent effects. Aviation is one of the most polluting sectors globally – even though only 20% of the global population have access to it.
The UN’s civil aviation body, the International Civil Aviation Organization , estimated 0.67 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) released per passenger for an economy-class return flight from London to New York.
Pexels | According to the International Air Transport Association, aviation accounts for 2% of the world’s global carbon emissions
Before the pandemic, the aviation industry was expected to triple between 2020 and 2050. Luckily, though, this much-needed break from the hustle-bustle of everyday life caused many people to open their eyes and change the course of their lives in a matter of days.
Todd had his heart on becoming a pilot since the young age of 5 when his father took him to see an air show. Owing to his working-class family background, his £140,000 training took seven years to complete.
Once that was successfully out of the way, he spent two years as a flight instructor and eventually climbed up the ladder to fly for a Bulgarian airline. No later, he had landed a job with Thomas Cook as the senior first officer.
Now, Todd works for Extinction Rebellion, a global organization encouraging governments to announce an environmental emergency and to take immediate action to combat the threat of climate change.
Todd Smith | Before 2019, everything was going fine for Todd – until he lost his job and got diagnosed with Lyme disease
Nathan Raab is no different from Todd. After being fired from his job as a British Airways pilot, Nathan decided to go all in to the green business. For this purpose, he set up his company Pointless Plants two years ago in partnership with the Ecologi Association.
By the beginning of March 2021, the company had planted 32,732 trees already. It also employs four people who lost their job during the pandemic, one of whom was a flight attendant for Virgin Atlantic.
Nathan Raab | After contributing to the problem for so long, Nathan feels it his responsibility to look after the environment and spread awareness
From what we’re seeing, the pandemic acted as the perfect wake-up call for people to mend their ways and focus on the many ways they were damaging the environment. And all for the better! The world needs more people like Todd Smith and Nathan Raab, especially at this time.
