A pressure group for the environment has denounced the increasing emissions of the air cargo industry. This is due to global supply chain problems and the rise in online commerce.
According to Stand Earth (a US-Canadian organization), pollution in the air freight industry has increased by 25% since 2019.
A report by the group fourth found that market distortions due to Covid-19 pandemic travel restrictions, and disruptions in the supply chain boosted the air cargo sector.
The report stated that “prior to the Covid-19 epidemic, air freight was dominated by perishables, time-sensitive delivery, and luxury goods.”
The pandemic forced the industries to switch to air freight in order to transport a wider variety of goods.
It said that “what many thought was a pandemic abnormality is not only continuing but in some cases even growing.”
The report stated that “While FedEx UPS and Amazon celebrate the new norm in the shipping business, their success comes with a terrible cost.”
The “Big Three” in the air freight sector are responsible for 27 percent (or 4,45 million US homes) of the global greenhouse gas emissions.
Stand Earth criticized Amazon’s rapid delivery strategy — which includes same-day or even overnight delivery with Prime membership — as a factor in the growth of air freight emissions.
According to US Commerce Department data, online commerce has grown exponentially in recent years. It is expected to reach $3.6 trillion by 2023 from $2.1 trillion this year.
The report of the group focuses on the air freight companies that specialize in this type of transport. However, they only make up half the market. Commercial airlines carry the rest via passenger flights.
According to the airline trade association IATA 62 million tonnes of air freight is expected to be transported this year, an increase of 7.6 percent from 2019.
Air freight represents only a small percentage of the global trade volume, but it accounts for 35 percent of the total value.
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