Efforts to reduce aviation carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will be outweighed by the growth in air passengers, according to new research.

Plane ticket prices would need to rise by at least 1.4 per cent a year for emission levels to fall, the research by the University of Southampton found, but such a rise would buck the recent trend of lower air fares.

The research's co-author Professor John Preston said there was little doubt demand for air travel would continue to rise, adding: "As a result, civil aviation is going to become an increasingly significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions."