Newslinks: February 2023

Ongoing emissions from

… personal behaviour

• Flying critical to wellbeing of a third of Australians
https://engage.airservicesaustralia.com/travelling-forward?twclid=23i4cwgl49kosekr8otz9c9st7
https://www.airservicesaustralia.com/flying-critical-to-wellbeing-of-a-third-of-australians/

• How a Seattle high school student is shining a spotlight on emissions from private jets
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/whatonearth/private-jet-emissions-1.6758495

… aviation policy

• Qantas unscathed by new climate policy
https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/travel/qantas-unscathed-by-new-climate-policy-20230113-p5ccap

• The Environmental Injustice in Aviation Emissions
https://www.law.georgetown.edu/environmental-law-review/blog/872/

• Aviation and shipping: decarbonising transport sector sloths
https://www.ship-technology.com/comment/aviation-shipping-decarbonising/

• Airbus to ramp up aircraft production following supply chain issues
https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/air/airbus-to-ramp-up-aircraft-production-following-supply-chain-issues

• EU investment rules will greenwash 90% of Airbus’ polluting planes
https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/eu-investment-rules-will-greenwash-90-of-airbus-polluting-planes/

• EU taxonomy for aviation: Will Von der Leyen rubber stamp the biggest act of aviation greenwashing in decades?
https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/eu-taxonomy-for-aviation-will-von-der-leyen-rubber-stamp-the-biggest-act-of-aviation-greenwashing-in-decades/

• Higher air fares are inevitable
https://www.fvw.de/international/travel-news/eu-emissions-regulations-higher-air-fares-are-inevitable-232283

• UK airlines: not paying for pollution
https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/uk-airlines-not-paying-for-pollution/

… industry greenwash

• Decarbonising media: how to turn greenwashing into greenworking
https://mumbrella.com.au/decarbonising-media-how-to-turn-greenwashing-into-greenworking-767807/amp

… supersonic flights

• More or less
https://www.h2020moreandless.eu/project/

… cargo flights

• Cargo2ZERO helps airlines and freight forwarders report on their CO2 emissions
https://theloadstar.com/cargo2zero-helps-airlines-and-freight-forwarders-report-on-their-co2-emissions/

… airports

• How airports are charting a flight path to net zero
https://www.infrastructureinvestor.com/how-airports-are-charting-a-flight-path-to-net-zero/

• The Push From Asia Pacific Airports To Lower Carbon Emissions
https://simpleflying.com/asia-pacific-airports-lowering-carbon-emissions/

• What’s next for paused Heathrow Airport expansion?
https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/whats-next-for-paused-heathrow-airport-expansion-14-02-2023/

… ultra fine pollution

• Jet Engine Lubrication Oils a Major Source of Air Pollution
https://www.technologynetworks.com/analysis/news/jet-engine-lubrication-oils-a-major-source-of-air-pollution-368940

… the net zero delusion

JET ZERO

• Zero Emission Flight Delivery Group terms of reference
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/zero-emission-flight-delivery-group-terms-of-reference

• UK net zero aviation ambitions must resolve resource and research questions around alternatives to jet fuel
https://royalsociety.org/news/2023/02/net-zero-aviation-fuels-report/

• Aviation biofuel would need half of UK agricultural land, report says
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/government-the-royal-society-airlines-uk-china-department-for-transport-b2290765.html

• Over £110 million to unlock zero emission guilt-free flights
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/over-110-million-to-unlock-zero-emission-guilt-free-flights

• Scientists pour cold water on UK aviation’s net zero ambitions
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/feb/28/scientists-uk-aviation-net-zero-ambitions-half-farmland-double-renewable-electricity

‘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.

• Sustainable Aviation Fuel: In the pipeline
https://www.businesstraveller.com/features/sustainable-aviation-fuel-in-the-pipeline/

• Green Skies Ahead: The Rise of Sustainable Aviation
https://www.environmentalleader.com/2023/02/the-rise-of-sustainable-aviation/

• Flying with biofuels produced from “waste oils” destroys biodiversity
https://stay-grounded.org/flying-with-biofuels-destroys-biodiversity/

• Research forecasts global bio jet fuels market to reach $837.7 million by 2030
https://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2023/02/15/research-forecasts-global-bio-jet-fuels-market-to-reach-837-7-million-by-2030/

• Boeing More Than Doubles Sustainable Aviation Fuel Purchase For 2023
https://simpleflying.com/boeing-saf-purchase-double-2023/

• Doubling down on sustainable aviation and protecting our planet
https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/sustainable-aviation-protecting-planet-saf-boeing/153274/

• Why Sustainable Aviation Fuel Could Be The Better Alternative To Carbon Offsetting
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelingram/2023/02/16/why-sustainable-aviation-fuel-could-be-the-better-alternative-to-carbon-offsetting/?sh=1176d842138f

• United Airlines, five other companies launch effort to develop sustainable aviation fuel
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/21/united-airlines-sustainable-aviation-fuel.html

• A Sudden Rush to Make Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mainstream
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/21/climate/united-sustainable-aviation-fuel.html

• DSV purchases sustainable fuel for 2023 business air travel
https://www.stattimes.com/aviation/dsv-purchases-sustainable-fuel-for-2023-business-air-travel-1347914

• Sustainable aviation fuel is the answer to decarbonisation
https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affairs/sustainable-aviation-fuel-is-the-answer-to-decarbonisation-20230218-p5cljs

OFFSETS

When all sectors need to reduce their emissions to zero, the aviation industry buys/offsets the reductions of others in order to grow its own emissions.

• We can’t afford to offset our aviation emissions
https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/31/23579475/aviation-emissions-cost-carbon-offsets-climate-change

• Do The Airlines Have A Credible Program To Cut Their CO2 Levels?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2023/02/13/do-the-airlines-have-a-credible-program-to-cut-their-co2-levels/

HYDROGEN

• New consortium to enable zero emission aviation to take off in Aotearoa New Zealand
https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023-02-new-consortium-to-enable-zero-emission-aviation-to-take-off-in

• Hydrogen aircraft developers are in for the long haul
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/hydrogen-aircraft-developers-are-long-haul-2023-02-09/

• Study Aims to Understand Role of Hydrogen in Aviation Sector
https://businessnewswales.com/study-aims-to-understand-role-of-hydrogen-in-aviation-sector/

E-FUELS

• Watch: The potential answer to aviation’s net-zero goals
https://think.ing.com/articles/watch-the-answer-to-aviations-net-zero-goals/

Cutting emissions

… frequent flyer tax

• Would a Frequent flying tax be progressive?
https://theicct.org/aviation-fft-global-feb23/

… alternative travel

RAIL

• Australia’s high-speed rail should be rolled out in small stages with Sydney to Canberra first, experts say
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/feb/24/start-building-now-to-fulfil-sydney-melbourne-high-speed-rail-ambition-labor-urged

… personal behaviour

• The No-Jet Set: They’ve Given Up Flying to Save the Planet
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/06/travel/travel-climate-no-fly-pledge.html

… contrails

• Exploring new routes to net zero flight
https://www.ft.com/partnercontent/etihad-airways/exploring-new-routes-to-net-zero-flight.html

… legal action

• ASA Ruling on Ryanair Ltd t/a Ryanair Ltd
https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/ryanair-ltd-cas-571089-p1w6b2.html

… electric flight

• Would you trust an electric aeroplane? These airlines hope you might
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/sustainability/aviation-sector-takes-on-its-biggest-challenge-going-green-20230209-p5cj4m.html

Climate emergency

• Faster, higher, hotter: What we learned about the climate system in 2022
https://www.climatecodered.org/2023/02/faster-higher-hotter-what-we-learned.html

• Every Australian will be touched by climate change. So let’s start a national conversation about how we’ll cope
https://iceds.anu.edu.au/news-events/news/every-australian-will-be-touched-climate-change-so-let%E2%80%99s-start-national

• Qantas accused of ‘ripping off’ customers after posting record $1.4bn half-year profit
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/feb/23/qantas-lower-fares-record-profit-alan-joyce