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British Airways made a significant commitment to bio jet fuel Monday, agreeing to use the entire output of Europe’s first bio jet fuel plant.

The airlines said it struck a deal with Solena Group to build a plant east of London that will convert bio-waste otherwise headed for landfill into fuel. The facility is expected to begin production in 2014.

Production to be relatively modest, but will cover flights at London City Airport

British Airways isn’t the first European or international carrier to agree to take steps to fight global warming.  In December, 14 major airlines in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere said they were negotiating with AltAir Fuels to buy up to 750 million gallons of bio jet fuel over 10 years. AltAir will build a production facility in Seattle to convert the plant camelina into fuel.

However British Airways decided to go its own way. Instead of cultivating a plant such as camilina (several others such as jatropa are promising) it is converting 500,000 tonnes of bio-waste into 16 million gallons of jet fuel equivalent. The bio-waste, vegetable residue and the like, will be gasified into BioSynGas and then converted to fuel.

No environmentally damaging leftovers remain from the process, says Arcadis, an advisor the project. Financial terms of the deal were not released.

While the output of the Solena plant is relatively modest, it will help reduce carbon output. British Airways estimates the fuel will power the company’s flights in and out of London City Airport. However, this amounts to just 2 percent of British Airway’s operations at of Heathrow, the world’s busiest airport.

The airline hopes to obtain 10 percent of its fuel from waste-to-energy operations by 2050.

While the Solena deal is a significant step in the right direction, it illustrates the magnitude of the problem. The airline’s intentions are good, but 10 percent 40 years isn’t enough to turn back the wave of worldwide atmospheric warming.

They are not known as green companies. The world’s top airlines send jets with powerful turbofan engines high into the atmosphere, where they spew out tons of greenhouse gases.

Dozens of U.S. companies have cut back on business travel because of the environmental impact of regular flying, and to save money during the recession. On Tuesday, 14 major airlines began fighting back.

Airlines negotiating to use camelina based jet fuel starting in 2012.

The carriers announced that they are negotiating with Seattle-based AltAir Fuels to buy up to 750 million gallons of bio jet fuel over 10 years.

Whether their decision to begin using bio jet fuel comes in response to changing demand, or because of an altruistic streak, it is a welcome change.

The fuel will be made from the Mediterranean herb camelina, which has potential to reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent. The camelina will be grown in nearby Montana.

AltAir said it plans to construct a new plant to produce the fuel next to the Tesoro oil refinery in Anacortes, Wash. The facility will have an annual capacity of 100 gallons and is to be completed by 2012. Engine modifications on the Boeing and Airbus jets that service most major U.S. airports aren’t needed.

The airlines negotiating with AltAir are American Airlines, Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, FedEx Express, Hawaiian Airlines, Jet Blue Airways, Lufthansa German Airlines, Mexicana Airlines, Polar Air Cargo, United Airlines, UPS Airlines, and US Airways.

Camelina is a tough, drought resistant plant that grows well is marginal soils, so is a good match for the Montana climate. It will be processed using technology from Honeywell.

As politicians quibble about the details of climate change agreements, it is good to see major companies step up to the green alter. Nevertheless, more needs to be done. The volume of fuel produced at the AltAir plant is only enough to replace 10 percent of the fuel used annually at the Seattle-Tacoma airport.

Additional pacts will need to be struck. It is too bad the airlines didn’t get started a decade ago when the dangers of global warming first became widely known.