‘Flight Shame’ Is Real, Will Make Carbon Big Business, Citi Says
- The cost of offsetting carbon emissions is set to soar
- Rail operators, governments, forest owners stand to benefit
Photographer: Jakob Owens
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“Flight shame” -- flyers feeling guilty about their carbon footprint -- is a real phenomenon and will raise costs for airlines, consumers and companies, while catapulting emission offsetting into a big business, Citigroup Inc. predicts.
The cost of offsetting planes’ carbon emissions could become as much as 10 times higher than the airline industry currently estimates, Citi analysts including Mark Manduca said in a note on Wednesday. For economy seats alone, the cost could balloon to $3.8 billion a year by 2025, hurting airlines’ earnings, they said.