Fresh Perspectives 6: Air-freighted fresh food: guilty pleasure or sustainable development champion?

by James MacGregor and Ben Groom

The Stern Review reports that emissions from aviation have been rising faster than other sectors in recent years, largely as a result of global trade. Nowhere are these concerns expressed more vocally than in relation to tourism and air freight. Yet these concerns extend only to the environmental impacts of aviation, ignoring attendant social and economic benefits. This report seeks to expand analysis of aviation's impact on sustainable development by understanding the impact that air freighting has on producer nations, particularly in developing countries.