Quitting his dream job over climate fears was a 'no-brainer' for this former pilot

Geoff Collis spent more than 40 years flying planes for a living. He saw snow-covered mountains, wild thunderstorms, and brilliant sunsets from high above the clouds. But a few years ago, he made a surprising choice — he gave up his dream job as a pilot because he was worried about what flying was doing to the planet. Today, he works at a bakery in Melbourne, Australia, and says the decision was the right one.

Collis fell in love with planes when he was just 10 years old. He built model airplane kits and read about the history of aviation. By the end of high school, he had started training to become a pilot. Over the next four decades, he logged 25,000 hours of flight time and never lost his love for taking off. 'Even to this day, after like 42 years and 25,000 hours in the logbook, there's still an incomparable buzz from taking off,' he said.

But as time went on, Collis began to feel uneasy about his work. He noticed how much fuel each flight used and started asking himself if he could keep doing it. He felt the aviation industry was not doing enough to fight climate change. He believed many of its efforts were just 'greenwashing' — which means making something look more eco-friendly than it really is. 'I started to realise that most of what [the industry] appeared to be doing [for climate change] was really just tokenism, spin and greenwashing,' he said.

A big change happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many aviation workers, Collis was partly stood down from his job when flights stopped around the world. He was 55 years old and looking for something useful to do. He reached out to a bakery in Eltham, a suburb in Melbourne's north-east, and asked if he could learn the trade. Within months, he was making breads and pastries and had found a new passion.

When the aviation industry started bouncing back, Collis returned to flying in 2023. But it did not last long, and he soon decided to leave flying for good. He went back to the bakery about a year ago, saying the switch was a 'no-brainer' for the sake of the planet. He has no regrets, even though flying had been his life's work.

Aviation produces between two and three per cent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions each year. That might sound small, but experts say it is one of the hardest industries to clean up. The Australian government has noted that aviation emissions keep growing even as other parts of the economy start to cut theirs. A 2025 report warned that global aviation emissions could be two to five times higher by 2070 than they were in 2018.

Qantas, the airline group that used to employ Collis, says it plans to keep growing to meet demand for air travel while also cutting its environmental impact. The airline is buying newer, more fuel-efficient planes and purchasing more sustainable aviation fuel — a cleaner fuel made from things like plant waste. Qantas has set a goal of cutting its net emissions by 25 per cent by 2025 and reaching net zero by 2050.

However, some researchers are not convinced these steps will be enough. Dr. Ya-Yen Sun, a professor at the University of Queensland, says that as long as the number of flights keeps growing, efficiency gains will be cancelled out. 'The energy efficiency has improved, but the demand outweighs the energy improvement,' she said. She believes reducing overall flying would help, but notes it is not simple — especially in a large country like Australia where many people rely on air travel.

One striking fact is that just one per cent of the world's population is responsible for more than half of all emissions from passenger flights. Dr. Sun says governments could push airlines harder through a carbon tax or emissions trading scheme — systems that make polluters pay for the harm they cause. She believes these kinds of rules could speed up change in the industry without simply banning people from flying.

Collis found comfort in a UK-based group called Safe Landing, made up of pilots and aviation workers who share his climate concerns. Connecting with them helped him feel less alone in his choice. 'Knowing there are other people out there who came to the same conclusion as myself was reassuring and reaffirming,' he said. He hopes his story encourages others to ask whether their own choices match their values. Even now, whenever a plane passes overhead, he still cannot help but look up.