Ongoing emissions from
… growth in flights
• Wondering which airlines emit increased carbon emissions?
https://travelnoire.com/airlines-carbon-emssions
• ‘Problem child’: Transport on track to produce nearly half of Europe’s emissions by 2030
https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/03/20/problem-child-transport-on-track-to-produce-nearly-half-of-europes-emissions-by-2030
• Airlines are roaring back in places you might not expect
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68573429
LONG HAUL GROWTH
• National tourism organizations and climate change
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14616688.2024.2332368
… 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 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 costs must be lower, Exxon VP says
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/sustainable-aviation-fuel-costs-must-be-lower-exxon-vp-says-2024-03-22/
• New sustainable aviation fuel rules not ready to fly
https://www.farmprogress.com/farm-policy/greet-revision-not-ready-to-fly-
• How sustainable aviation fuel could supercharge our economy
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/how-sustainable-aviation-fuel-could-supercharge-our-economy/news-story/13ad459924cf13303088b679f6506f0e?amp&nk=47c9526eab3e4685b6cacb332e5dae3b-1711607857
• An upcycling bioprocess for sustainable aviation fuel production from food waste-derived greenhouse gases: Life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1385894724017297
• Willis Sustainable Fuels (UK) Limited Approved for Construction of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (“SAF”) Refinery at Teesworks, UK
https://biofuelscentral.com/willis-sustainable-fuels-uk-limited-approved-for-construction-of-sustainable-aviation-fuel-saf-refinery-at-teesworks-uk/
• The International Airlines Group (IAG) and Twelve announce a historic Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) purchase agreement for e-SAF
https://energycentral.com/c/og/international-airlines-group-iag-and-twelve-announce-historic-sustainable
• Catalytic conversion of biomass and plastic waste to alternative aviation fuels: A review
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0961953424000734?dgcid=rss_sd_all
• Sasol, Topsoe’s Zaffra aims to decarbonise aviation
https://www.gasworld.com/story/sasol-topsoes-zaffra-aims-to-decarbonise-aviation/2135801.article/
• Transport minister sprukes Australian SAF and Jet Zero Council
https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/c-king/speech/transcript-australian-renewable-fuels-week-conference
• Standard Chartered and DHL Express Sign Aviation Fuel Deal
https://sustainabilitymag.com/net-zero/standard-chartered-dhl-express-sign-aviation-fuel-deal
• E-CHO industrial biofuel complex in France: so-called sustainable aviation fuels are a false solution
https://stay-grounded.org/biofuel-project-lacq-france-false-solution/
• Why impose a sustainable aviation fuel levy on passengers flying from Singapore?
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/sustainable-aviation-fuel-levy-changi-airport-flight-carbon-emissions-offset-4227796
• A recent review of aviation fuels and sustainable aviation fuels
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379257071_A_recent_review_of_aviation_fuels_and_sustainable_aviation_fuels
• FAA Invests $27 Million on Research to Reduce Emissions and Noise
https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-invests-27-million-research-reduce-emissions-and-noise
• Cathay Pacific Announces New Emissions Reductions Steps
https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/airlines-lessors/cathay-pacific-announces-new-emissions-reductions-steps
• Is seaweed the solution to net zero aviation emissions?
https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/is-seaweed-the-solution-to-net-zero-aviation-emissions/ss-BB1k2EIH
• Could sugar cane power aviation?
https://apacnetwork.com/story/could-sugar-cane-power-aviation/
• Taking Flight Towards Sustainability in Aviation: A Deep Dive into Alternative Aircraft Engine Fuels
https://www.aviationfile.com/taking-flight-towards-sustainability-in-aviation/
… emissions greenwash
• KLM sought to give the “mistaken impression” that flying could be sustainable
https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2024/3/20/dutch-court-finds-airline-guilty-of-greenwashing
• Dutch court finds KLM ads were misleading in ‘greenwashing’ case
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/dutch-court-rule-klm-greenwashing-case-2024-03-20/
• Aviation’s greatest challenge is not net zero but stopping misinformation
https://www.airlineratings.com/news/aviations-greatest-challenge-is-not-net-zero-but-stopping-misinformation/
• Activists urge UEFA to ban airline sponsorships worth over €317 million from football games
https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/02/14/activists-urge-uefa-to-ban-airline-sponsorships-worth-over-317-million-from-football-games
… 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. When the planet is already dangerously hot, offsets steal carbon drawdown needed to cool the planet to excuse further emissions.
• Are carbon offsetting schemes needed for climate change mitigation?
https://typeset.io/questions/are-carbon-offsetting-schemes-needed-for-climate-change-d09wkfkl5r
• Airlines warned not to use carbon offsetting schemes as ‘excuse’ to use fossil fuels
https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/2024/03/09/airlines-warned-not-to-use-carbon-offsetting-schemes-as-excuse-to-use-fossil-fuels/
… delusional scenarios
• The Rise of Sustainable Travel: How Chartered Airlines are Embracing Eco-Friendly Practices
https://medium.com/@ectdevelopers/the-rise-of-sustainable-travel-how-chartered-airlines-are-embracing-eco-friendly-practices-3ca95c356816
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
• Thriving in an uncertain future
https://airlines.iata.org/2024/03/13/thriving-uncertain-future
• 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/
Reducing emissions
… marginally or theoretically
HYDROGEN FUEL
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.
• These will be the first hydrogen airplanes: airline, flight date and destination already known
https://www.ecoticias.com/en/first-hydrogen-airplanes/529/
• Hydrogen for aviation: High in the sky or pie in the sky?
https://www.h2-view.com/feature/hydrogen-for-aviation-high-in-the-sky-or-pie-in-the-sky/2106880.article/
E-FUEL
E-fuels don’t prevent non-CO2 emissions. They require even more energy to produce than hydrogen, which would deprive other sectors needing to decarbonise. And generate very low power to thrust efficiency. Plus their deployment at scale decades away.
• Is momentum growing for e-Fuels to solve aviation’s decarbonisation challenge?
https://www.flightglobal.com/aerospace/is-momentum-growing-for-e-fuels-to-solve-aviations-decarbonisation-challenge/157409.article
FUEL EFFICIENCY
• Boeing’s big green disaster
https://heated.world/p/boeings-big-green-disaster
ALTERNATE FLIGHT PATHS
• GCAA, Etihad Airways and Thales set a collaborative framework for optimising flight operations
https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/aerospace/press_release/gcaa-etihad-airways-and-thales-set-collaborative-framework
• How rerouting planes to produce fewer contrails could help cool the planet
https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/03/12/1089620/how-rerouting-planes-to-produce-fewer-contrails-could-help-cool-the-planet/
• This Small Change Could Cut Aviation’s Carbon Footprint by 35 Percent
https://matadornetwork.com/read/contrails-carbon-emissions/
… through cuts in flight demand
• The future of flying? New levers for aviation emissions reduction
https://hotorcool.org/hc-posts/the-future-of-flying-new-levers-for-aviation-emissions-reduction/
• Net zero and the role of the aviation industry
https://www.chathamhouse.org/2023/11/net-zero-and-role-aviation-industry
REGULATING FLIGHT CAPS
• Schiphol back to 400,000 flights without a balanced approach
https://schipholwatch.nl/2024/03/20/schiphol-terug-naar-400-000-vluchten-zonder-balanced-approach/’
BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
• Australia losing tourism appeal as fliers count carbon emissions
https://www.ajot.com/news/australia-losing-tourism-appeal-as-fliers-count-carbon-emissions
• Addressing climate change with behavioral science
https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/sciadv.adj5778
OPPOSING AIRPORT EXPANSION
• Ten councils oppose Gatwick Airport’s second runway plans
https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/24146641.ten-councils-oppose-gatwick-airports-second-runway-plans/
• How residents and the Dutch Government are working together to try to reduce the number of flights using Schiphol Airport
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jS50qge6gYY&feature=youtu.be
Climate emergency
• Europe unprepared for rapidly growing climate risks, report finds
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/10/europe-unprepared-for-climate-risks-eea-report