EasyJet, the British purveyor of low-cost, short-haul air travel, has inspired passionate criticism over its environmental impact. Air travel is one of the fastest-rising sources of carbon emissions, and detractors believe that weekend jaunts across Europe are unnecessarily wasteful.

Despite these accusations, EasyJet’s founder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, says that his company is a climate hero, not a villain.

“I think we have a good story to tell,” Mr. Haji-Ioannou said at the Politics of Climate Change Conference in London last week.

Compared to the air travel competition, he noted, EasyJet uses newer, more efficient jets and packs as many people as possible onto each aircraft, thereby minimizing the emissions contribution per passenger.

Here is the full article: http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/are-discount-airlines-greener/