4 Jul '24

Newslinks: June 2024

July 4, 2024

NEWS

Ongoing emissions from

… growth in flights

TOURISM

• Europe Has a New Economic Engine: American Tourists
https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/europe-tourism-economy-american-tourists-f6112f78?st=mp0vv4ang4od4o4

AIR FREIGHT

• Air freight greenhouse gas emissions up 25% since 2019, analysis finds
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/26/air-freight-greenhouse-gas-emissions-increase-post-pandemic-economy

… delusional reduction scenarios

NET ZERO 2050

• Ex-BA boss: drop green aviation policies if costs outweigh benefits
https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jun/03/ex-ba-boss-green-aviation-costs-willie-walsh-iata

• Menzies Aviation Net Zero Targets Approved by Science-Based Targets Initiative
https://www.aviationpros.com/ground-handling/press-release/55088841/menzies-aviation-menzies-aviation-net-zero-targets-approved-by-science-based-targets-initiative

• Reducing carbon emissions in aviation by 5% by 2030 may not be achievable on global basis
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/reducing-carbon-emissions-in-aviation-by-5-by-2030-may-not-be-achievable-on-global-basis-iata

• Responding to aviation’s sustainability needs
https://airlines.iata.org/2024/06/23/responding-aviations-sustainability-needs

• Here’s How Airbus Is Working Towards Net-Zero By 2050
https://simpleflying.com/airbus-net-zero-progress/

• The long haul to Jet Zero
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/Stories/sustainable-aviation/

• Navigating the Turbulence: The Impact of Net Zero on Air Travel
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/navigating-turbulence-impact-net-zero-air-travel-kalea-texeira-ln48e

• Sustainable Aviation: Paving the Way for Clearer Skies
https://www.peakoil.net/environment/sustainable-aviation-paving-the-way-for-clearer-skies

… greenwashed fuels and engines

‘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 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. Deployment of SAF to supply total fuel demand will fail due to feedstock shortages, land shortages, and prohibitive costs. Monoculture SAF feedstock cropping damages biodiversity, takes land from food cropping, and prevents nature-based carbon sequestration.

• Neste: World’s First In-Flight Study Of Commercial Aircraft Using 100% SAF Shows Significant Non-CO2 Emission Reductions
https://biomassmagazine.com/articles/neste-worlds-first-in-flight-study-of-commercial-aircraft-using-100-saf-shows-significant-non-co2-emission-reductions

• World’s 1st In-Flight Study of Commercial Aircraft Using 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel Shows Significant Non-CO2 Emission Reductions
https://cleantechnica.com/2024/06/08/worlds-1st-in-flight-study-of-commercial-aircraft-using-100-sustainable-aviation-fuel-shows-significant-non-co2-emission-reductions/

• Air NZ takes another step on path to net-zero emissions
https://www.thepress.co.nz/business/350323509/air-nz-takes-another-step-path-zero-emissions

• ReFuelEU aviation environmental labelling scheme
https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14142-ReFuelEU-aviation-environmental-labelling-scheme-detailed-rules-_en

• Is seaweed the solution to net zero aviation emissions?
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/is-seaweed-the-solution-to-net-zero-aviation-emissions/ss-BB1k2ssG?ocid=windirect

• IATA: SAF Production To Triple In 2024 But More Opportunities For Diversification Needed
https://biomassmagazine.com/articles/iata-saf-production-to-triple-in-2024-but-more-opportunities-for-diversification-needed

• Target of 5% sustainable aviation fuels by 2030 is ‘extremely ambitious’
https://www.brusselstimes.com/world-all-news/1075693/target-of-5-sustainable-aviation-fuels-by-2030-is-extremely-ambitious

• IATA Conference: Industry Leaders Question Sustainable Fuel Feasibility
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/iata-conference-industry-leaders-question-sustainable-kalea-texeira-f5uze

• Emerging technologies, policies and challenges toward implementing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0961953424002307?dgcid=rss_sd_all

• Journey to aviation net zero not easy as ‘waste-to-fuel’ process hits turbulence
https://theloadstar.com/journey-to-aviation-net-zero-not-easy-as-waste-to-fuel-process-hits-turbulence/#

• Is Europe’s 2050 Sustainable Aviation Fuel Quota Unsustainable?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/gauravsharma/2024/06/23/is-europes-2050-sustainable-aviation-fuel-quota-unsustainable/

• Alternative aviation fuels offer limited mitigation potential
https://cicero.oslo.no/en/articles/alternative-aviation-fuels-offer-limited-mitigation-potential

HYDROGEN

Hydrogen-powered aircraft will not have zero emissions, even if hydrogen is produced from renewable electricity, because it will still emit NOx and generate contrail cirrus that have a higher climate impact than CO2 today. The deployment of “green” hydrogen in aviation would require huge quantities of renewable electricity, which would deprive other sectors needing to decarbonise. Hydrogen will not be viable for medium and long-haul flights before 2050, much too late to tackle the climate emergency.

• Why hydrogen is not a cure for emissions
https://newsroom.co.nz/2020/09/23/why-hydrogen-is-not-a-cure-for-emissions/

• Will flying ever be sustainable?
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0hymq3l/will-flying-ever-be-sustainable-

• Pioneers Are Getting Hydrogen-Fueled Planes Off The Ground
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2024/06/11/pioneers-are-getting-hydrogen-fueled-planes-off-the-ground/?ss=energy

E-FUELS

Manufacturing eFuel at scale requires likely prohibitive demand for renewable electricity to capture carbon from the atmosphere and isolate hydrogen.

• Negative Emissions Technologies (NETs)
https://safe-landing.org/nets-presentation/

… offsets

• The accounting trick at the heart of the world’s climate goals
https://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/the-accounting-trick-at-the-heart-of-the-world-s-climate-goals-20240612-p5jl6a.html

Measuring emissions

• Aviation senior project for sampling atmospheric emissions takes flight
https://polytechnic.purdue.edu/newsroom/aviation-senior-project-for-sampling-atmospheric-emissions-takes-flight

• Indirect Impacts from Nitrogen Oxide Emissions
https://offsetguide.org/understanding-carbon-offsets/air-travel-climate/climate-impacts-from-aviation/indirect-impacts-from-nitrogen-oxide-emissions/

Reducing emissions by

… marginal reductions

FLIGHT OPTIMISATION

• Emirates’ green aviation initiative slashes fuel burn by 48,000 tons, cuts carbon emissions by 151,000 tons
https://economymiddleeast.com/news/emirates-green-aviation-initiative-slashes-fuel-burn-by-48000-tons-cuts-carbon-emissions-by-151000-tons/

TICKET PRICING

• Due to ETS, all flights within Europe will be subject to a surcharge
https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2024-06-30/business-news/Due-to-ETS-all-flights-within-Europe-will-be-subject-to-a-surcharge-6736262335

• Transition to net-zero will bring end of affordable air travel, aviation official warns
https://www.foxweather.com/lifestyle/air-travel-net-zero-ticket-price-rise

… demand reduction

• Capping aviation emissions – a pressing necessity with a potential solution
https://www.greenairnews.com/?p=5757

… challenging aviation’s social licence

• Why climate change is leading to more aviation disasters – and how the industry must respond
https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/why-climate-change-leading-more-111049679.html

Mark Carter
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