Aviation and how it’s impacting our climate: Celeste Hicks on noise, emissions and the quest for cleaner skies

When former BBC World Service journalist Celeste Hicks swapped foreign reporting for climate policy, she didn’t expect aviation to become her specialist beat. 

But today, as policy manager at the Aviation Environment Federation (AEF), she finds herself at the centre of one of the UK’s most complex - and fastest-growing - environmental challenges.

Celeste joined AEF in 2024, bringing with her 15 years at the BBC World Service, roles at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Transport & Environment, three published books, and a decade of campaigning on clean air and safe streets. The transition, she says, was natural.

In episode 30 of The Decarbonisation Dialogue podcast, she tells us: “I saw that there was a great nexus between communications and policy - you can’t really have one without the other.

“Policy professionals often don’t think about how to explain what they’re doing to the wider public, and communicators don’t always engage with the detail. For me, it just naturally evolved into this space.”

The Aviation Environment Federation marks its 50th anniversary this year. Founded in the 1970s, it began as a voice for communities living under increasingly busy flight paths. Back then. Celeste says the main problems were noise, traffic and local air pollution. Today, the organisation must also confront a global crisis.

“We’re a well-informed NGO voice,” she says. “We don’t go for dramatic protests; we make sure our arguments are backed up by solid research. That gives us an important role, because we’re trusted. We’re asked into government meetings, we give evidence to parliamentary committees, and our team sits on the government’s Jet Zero Council.”

The influence is significant. AEF was also a founding member of the International Coalition for Sustainable Aviation, which holds observer status at the UN’s aviation body, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Yet, despite these efforts, Celeste believes that aviation emissions are heading in the wrong direction with increased passenger numbers. 

Back in 2021, the UK committed to including international aviation emissions in its legally binding carbon budgets. AEF had campaigned hard for that decision. Celeste now believes more is needed.

“Other sectors are decarbonising. We’ve made massive strides on renewable energy and EVs, but aviation is really not doing anything. The Climate Change Committee has warned that aviation could become the biggest emitting sector in the UK by 2040.”

Celeste believes we also need to look at who is flying and why because she says this is about ‘fairness.’

“If you look at who actually flies multiple times a year, it’s predominantly richer people. And huge chunks of UK flights are for leisure. Airports openly want to open more leisure destinations.”

Yet, she tells us, only 50% of the UK population flies at all in any given year.

Celeste adds: “Those costs, environmental and eventually financial, will be borne by everyone. And that’s not fair.”

AEF supports financial measures such as an air miles tax and a Frequent Flyer Levy, developed by partners including Possible and the New Economics Foundation.

“The idea is simple: the more you fly, the more you pay. No one is saying don’t ever fly again. But is the never-ending growth in flights really serving anyone other than wealthy leisure passengers? And if it is, is it worth the carbon cost?”

Recent government steps, such as increasing Air Passenger Duty on private jets, are welcome. Celeste believes that higher taxes on private jets, first-class seats and business-class seats, all of which create disproportionately high emissions per passenger – will also be welcome.

Many of us have heard the phrase, ‘zero-emission flight’ and Celeste welcomes the idea.

“I’m sure zero-emission flight will be possible in the future, but right now it’s a huge challenge,” she says. “The batteries are too heavy, the power demands too high.”

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is often touted as the answer, although Celeste believes the scaling challenge is immense.

“The idea of using waste-based feedstocks is good - and we support that - but things are not going as quickly as they need to. SAF is only a tiny proportion of fuel used today. Even the aviation industry admits SAF isn’t the full answer. Other things will be needed, including greenhouse gas removals and zero-emission technologies that aren’t yet mature.”

And then there’s the bigger picture.

“If you want to create e-fuels using green hydrogen, that electricity has to come from somewhere,” she says. “Diverting renewable energy away from homes and other sectors creates economy-wide impacts. Aviation doesn’t exist in isolation.”

Despite the scale of the challenge, Hicks remains positive.

“What I enjoy about this job is the intellectual challenge,” she says. “It’s fiendishly complicated - technology, planning, legislation - everything fits together.”

And she does believe progress will come.

“If you think 10 years ahead, I think we’ll see a lot more action.

“It’s already obvious that aviation is way behind where it needs to be. It has to be addressed. People across the country are working so hard to decarbonise homes and transport. Aviation can’t stay under the radar anymore.”

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