Ongoing emissions from
… growth in flights
• Air Travel Reaches 99% of 2019 Levels as Recovery Continues in November
https://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/air-travel-reaches-99-of-2019-levels-as-recovery-continues-in-november/
• Performance anxiety: How can our airlines do better?
https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/performance-anxiety-how-can-our-airlines-do-better-20231219-p5esek.html
• “Profits, profits, profits”: why the aviation industry is struggling to decarbonise
https://www.offshore-technology.com/interviews/why-the-aviation-industry-is-struggling-to-decarbonise/?cf-view&cf-closed
• No-Frills Flying Emerges as Travel’s Painful, Greener Future
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-22/a-greener-future-for-airlines-depends-on-passengers-being-uncomfortable
• A flight path to greener airline profits
https://www.aero-mag.com/a-flight-path-to-greener-airline-profits
FREQUENT FLYER MILES
• American Airlines Only Made Money Selling Miles Last Quarter, Needs A Better Premium Strategy
https://viewfromthewing.com/american-airlines-only-made-money-selling-miles-last-quarter-needs-a-better-premium-strategy/
… non-CO2 emissions
• The non-CO2 impacts of planes are a key reason to reduce aviation demand
https://www.creds.ac.uk/publications/the-non-co2-impacts-of-planes-are-a-key-reason-to-reduce-aviation-demand/
• Google will update flight emissions calculations in its travel impact model
https://www.phocuswire.com/google-update-flight-emissions-calculatoins-in-travel-impact-model
… greenwashing
‘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.
• CAPA’s World Aviation Summit – sustainable aviation fuel and aviation’s net zero ambitions
https://centreforaviation.com/analysis/reports/capas-world-aviation-summit–sustainable-aviation-fuel-and-aviations-net-zero-ambitions-670744
• Under New Guidance, “Sustainable” Aviation Fuel in the US Could Be Anything But
https://www.wri.org/insights/us-sustainable-aviation-fuel-emissions-impacts
• On radar: 1% sustainable jet fuel blending for international flights by 2027
https://m.economictimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/on-radar-1-sustainable-jet-fuel-blending-for-international-flights-by-2027/articleshow/106739388.cms
• Is Sustainable Aviation Fuel the Answer to Lower Carbon Emissions?
https://energynow.ca/2024/01/is-sustainable-aviation-fuel-the-answer-to-lower-carbon-emissions/
• Biogas: How human faeces can be used to power planes
https://punchng.com/biogas-how-human-faeces-can-be-used-to-power-planes/
• What Are Airlines Doing To Reduce Their Carbon Emissions?
https://simpleflying.com/what-are-airlines-doing-to-reduce-carbon-emissions/
• Global Jet Fuel Industry Report 2024: Market to Reach $249.19 Billion by 2028 with Evolving Sustainable Aviation Fuel Trends – Long-term Forecast to 2033
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/global-jet-fuel-industry-report-151800879.html
ADVERTISING
• EU bans ‘misleading’ environmental claims that rely on offsetting
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/17/eu-bans-misleading-environmental-claims-that-rely-on-offsetting
… delusional emissions reduction scenarios
NET ZERO 2050
Net zero emissions by 2050 allows ongoing emissions and subtracts from them carbon drawdown needed to cool an already dangerously hot planet
• Achieving 5% carbon reduction by 2030
https://airlines.iata.org/2024/01/10/achieving-5-carbon-reduction-2030
• Net Zero 2050 – a target too far?
https://www.aerosociety.com/news/net-zero-2050-a-target-too-far/
• Net zero and the role of the aviation industry
https://www.chathamhouse.org/2023/11/net-zero-and-role-aviation-industry/02-model-overview-and-summary-high-level-results
• Climate scientists: concept of net zero is a dangerous trap
https://theconversation.com/climate-scientists-concept-of-net-zero-is-a-dangerous-trap-157368
OFFSETTING
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. When the planet is already dangerously hot, offsets steal carbon drawdown needed to cool the planet to excuse further emissions.
• FAQ: The EU ETS for aviation explained
https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2023/12/22/faq-the-eu-ets-for-aviation-explained/
Reducing emissions with
… marginal tech slutions
FUEL EFFICIENCY
• The impact of revolutionary aircraft designs on global aviation emissions
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/377153086_The_impact_of_revolutionary_aircraft_designs_on_global_aviation_emissions
• flynas Airbus A320neos Cut Monthly CO2 Emissions By 7,200 Tons
https://simpleflying.com/flynas-airbus-a320neos-co2-emissions-7200-tons/
FLIGHT PATH CHANGES
• Slight flight altitude changes could slash aviation’s climate impact
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2414433-slight-flight-altitude-changes-could-slash-aviations-climate-impact/
… alternate fuels
HYDROGEN
• Navigating Turbulence: Hydrogen’s Role in the Decarbonization of the Aviation Sector
https://www.oxfordenergy.org/publications/navigating-turbulence-hydrogens-role-in-the-decarbonization-of-the-aviation-sector/
• Revolution in aviation takes flight with Hydrogen fuel cell engines
https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/lifestyle/others/revolution-in-aviation-takes-flight-with-hydrogen-fuel-cell-engines
ELECTRIC FLIGHT
• NASA breakthrough in electric aviation boosts Australia’s battery-powered flight initiatives
https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/1037193/nasa-breakthrough-in-electric-aviation-boosts-australia-s-battery-powered-flight-initiatives-1037193.html
• Electric Aircraft Offer Significant Climate Advantages
https://www.miragenews.com/electric-aircraft-offer-significant-climate-1159780/
• Electrifying Everything Will Include More Of Aviation Than You Think
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelbarnard/2024/01/24/electrifying-everything-will-include-more-of-aviation-than-you-think/
• Researchers compare climate impact of electric aircraft vs those powered by fossil fuels
https://generalaviationnews.com/2024/01/27/researchers-compare-climate-impact-of-electric-aircraft-vs-those-powered-by-fossil-fuels/
… behaviour change
FLY LESS
• To avoid the worst of climate change we have to change how we travel
https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/2024/01/29/air-travel-climate-net-zero
… alternate travel modes
RAIL
• In Europe, Trains Are Full, and More Are on the Way
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/04/travel/europe-new-trains.html
… raising public awareness
PROTEST
• Greta Thunberg joins protest against expansion of Hampshire airport
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/27/greta-thunberg-joins-protest-against-expansion-of-hampshire-airport
Climate emergency
• Exceeding 1.5°C global warming could trigger multiple climate tipping points
https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/science.abn7950
• World scientists’ warning: The behavioural crisis driving ecological overshoot
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00368504231201372
• Australia not prepared for how Antarctic ice changes will hit economy, scientist warns
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/jan/21/antarctica-melting-ice-shelf-sea-cover-professor-matt-king
• The planetary commons: A new paradigm for safeguarding Earth-regulating systems in the Anthropocene
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2301531121
