Ongoing emissions from
… demand growth
PRIVATE JETS
• Flights of fancy: why wealthy Australians are spending big on private jets
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/16/flights-of-fancy-why-wealthy-australians-are-spending-big-on-private-jets
• Is it time to ban private jets?
https://www.bigissue.com/news/environment/is-it-time-to-ban-private-jets/
AIRPORT EXPANSIONS
• Tarras airport looms large on greenies’ radar
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/sustainable-future/tarras-airport-looms-large-on-greenies-radar
… greenwashed fuels and engines
• The journey to sustainable aviation
https://www.agcs.allianz.com/news-and-insights/expert-risk-articles/sustainable-aviation.html
‘SUSTAINABLE’ AVIATION FUELS
The aviation industry uses marketing greenwash and accounting tricks to mislead you into thinking that actual flight emissions from ‘Sustainable’ Aviation Fuel (SAF) are a fraction of those from fossil jet fuel. A jet never burns pure SAF, so a common 50:50 blend with fossil jet fuel doubles claimed emissions. And actual flight CO2 emissions are additionally more than claimed, by the amount of CO2 drawn down in making the fuel. Furthermore SAF still creates non-CO2 emissions twice as warming as actual flight CO2 emissions.
• Airlines Will Hike Ticket Prices to Pay for Costly Sustainable Fuel
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-19/aviation-s-near-term-carbon-fix-to-pass-price-hikes-to-consumers#xj4y7vzkg
• Sustainable aviation isn’t all it’s cracked up to be
https://www.afr.com/companies/transport/sustainable-aviation-isn-t-all-it-s-cracked-up-to-be-20230419-p5d1m4
• 22% Jump In Airfares Expected As Airlines Tackle Climate Change
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexledsom/2023/04/30/22-jump-in-airfares-expected-as-airlines-tackle-climate-change/?sh=273b2a706e0d
CARBON CAPTURE
• United Airlines announces $5 million investment in carbon capture company Svante
https://www.cpecn.com/news/united-airlines-announces-5-million-investment-in-carbon-capture-company-svante/
BIOFUELS
• Battle brews over climate law credits for aviation biofuels
https://www.eenews.net/articles/battle-brews-over-climate-law-credits-for-aviation-biofuels/
… delusional reduction pathways
NET ZERO 2050
• NGOs tell UK Government ‘Net zero emissions airports’ proposals risk misleading the public
https://www.aef.org.uk/2023/04/28/zero-emissions-airports-proposals-risk-misleading-the-public/
• European aviation industry claims bill of €800bn to reach net zero emissions
https://www.ft.com/content/1ebd04e8-0e30-4723-95d2-a19b42d3cd8a
• EU agrees to world’s largest green fuels mandate for aviation
https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/eu-agrees-to-worlds-largest-green-fuels-mandate-for-aviation/
• More sustainable fuels, less ‘tankering’: How new EU rules aim to cut aviation’s enormous emissions
https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/04/26/heres-how-the-eu-wants-to-make-your-flight-greener
• We are flying in the face of climate evidence
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/16/we-are-flying-in-the-face-of-climate-evidence
EMISSIONS TRADING
• European Parliament votes to revise aviation emissions-trading scheme
https://www.flightglobal.com/air-transport/european-parliament-votes-to-revise-aviation-emissions-trading-scheme/152899.article
• European airlines welcome Parliament’s inclusion of SAF allowances in Emissions Trading System
https://traveltomorrow.com/european-airlines-welcome-parliaments-inclusion-of-saf-allowances-in-emissions-trading-system/
• Airlines Step Up to the Sustainability Plate — and Travel Advisors Can Follow
https://www.travelweekly.com/Strategic-Content/United-sustainability-in-air-travel
… industry denial
GREENWASHING
• Capitalising on climate anxiety: what you need to know about ‘climate-washing’
https://theconversation.com/capitalising-on-climate-anxiety-what-you-need-to-know-about-climate-washing-202507
• Etihad must stop running two ads in the UK due to greenwash rule
https://english.alarabiya.net/amp/business/aviation-and-transport/2023/04/12/Etihad-must-stop-running-two-ads-in-the-UK-due-to-greenwash-rule
• Aviation must declare all emissions released by flying in adverts and competitions
https://www.change.org/p/aviation-must-declare-all-emissions-released-by-flying-in-adverts-and-competitions
• Airport carbon target risks greenwashing aviation emissions
https://www.aef.org.uk/2023/04/25/airport-carbon-target-risks-greenwashing-aviation-emissions/
Stopping emissions by
… degrowth
DEMAND REDUCTION
• Climate crisis means aviation must change — whether it likes it or not
https://www.ft.com/content/bbfe7462-2eaf-4129-8030-ec767325a643
Fiscal restraint
• Greener flights will cost more, says industry
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65295258
Post-Covid growth
• Australians face 50% hike in air fares to fly to Europe this year, data suggests
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/17/australians-face-50-hike-in-air-fares-to-fly-to-europe-this-year-data-suggests
… zero emissions flight
ELECTRIC FLIGHT
Electric aircraft will not be “zero emissions” until the electric grid is fully decarbonised. And any contribution to decarbonising aviation will be severely limited by aircraft range and payload. The only aircraft likely to be certified this decade will be very small and we won’t see larger aircraft before 2050, too late to prevent climate breakdown.
• Will flying ever be green?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/06/will-flying-ever-be-green-aviation-electric-planes-evtol
• Dutch Start-up Maeve Unveils All-Electric Regional Airliner
https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2023-04-13/dutch-start-maeve-unveils-all-electric-regional-airliner
• Too many fish in the pond, too many electric birds not yet in the sky
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=39fdea2b-d3e7-4d64-87c9-77d9673ef3ee
The climate emergency
• Reclaiming the Climate Emergency
https://www.patreon.com/posts/david-spratt-81325759
• This Simple Math Problem Could Be the Key to Solving Our Climate Crisis
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/how-to-tackle-climate-change-math-bill-mckibben-1234691661/
• Former ADF chief calls for release of secret report into security threat posed by climate crisis
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/05/former-adf-chief-calls-for-release-of-secret-report-into-security-threat-posed-by-climate-crisis
• Government has a duty to be transparent about climate security risks, even if shocking
https://reneweconomy.com.au/government-has-a-duty-to-be-transparent-about-climate-security-risks-even-if-shocking/