Ongoing emissions from
… 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.
• Interview with Vincent Begon
https://sustainabilitymag.com/interviews/vincent-begon
• Airlines & Ethanol Industry Unite for GHG Modeling Change
https://www.rrfn.com/2023/11/01/airlines-ethanol-industry-unite-for-ghg-modeling-change/
• $300 Million in Grants for SAF Production and Sustainable Aviation Technology Available from FAA
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/300-million-in-grants-for-saf-7688175/
• How big polluters such as aviation and shipping industries can reduce emissions
https://www.thenationalnews.com/climate/road-to-net-zero/2023/11/09/how-big-polluters-such-as-aviation-and-shipping-industries-can-reduce-emissions/
• Reducing aviation carbon emissions through U.S. sustainable aviation fuels
https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/reducing-aviation-carbon-emissions-through-u-s-sustainable-aviation-fuels/169828/
• Flexport Customers Can Now Support Sustainable Air Fuel Alternatives
https://sourcingjournal.com/topics/logistics/flexport-chooose-sustainable-aviation-fuel-decarbonization-air-freight-cotopaxi-ghg-carbon-465474/
• Virgin says Australian airlines should reduce emissions by buying greener fuel for overseas carriers
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/15/virgin-airlines-australia-emissions-greener-fuel-overseas-carrierd
• Collective action needed now to decarbonise aviation sector, says UN agency
https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/aviation/2023/11/20/collective-action-needed-now-to-decarbonise-aviation-sector-says-un-agency/
• Virgin Atlantic jet lands after maiden transatlantic flight on low-carbon fuel
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/virgin-atlantic-jet-lift-off-maiden-transatlantic-flight-low-carbon-fuel-2023-11-28/
• Groundbreaking transatlantic flight using greener fuel lands in the US
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67548961
• UN Aviation Agency Seeks To Cut Emissions By 5% By 2030
https://simpleflying.com/un-aviation-agency-cut-emissions-5-percent-2030/
SYNTHETIC FUEL
• Floating factories of artificial leaves could make green fuel for jets and ships
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/12/floating-factories-artificial-leaves-green-fuel-
GREENWASH
• Virgin Atlantic and BA face formal complaints over sustainability claims
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/30/airlines-virgin-atlantic-british-airways-face-formal-complaints-over-contested-sustainability-claims
… non-CO2 emissions
CONTRAILS
• A science experiment in the sky attempts to unravel the mysteries of contrails
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/11/04/nasa-boeing-flying-contrail-climate-research/71392776007/
… 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.
• Aviation carbon offset scheme faces fundamental imbalance with demand seen far outstripping supply
https://carbon-pulse.com/234463/
• Navigating the Skies: The Reality of Carbon Offsets in Air Travel
https://airspace-africa.com/2023/11/24/navigating-the-skies-the-reality-of-carbon-offsets-in-air-travel/
• How Dynoflight Will Automate Aviation Carbon Crediting
https://simpleflying.com/dynoflight-interview/
… delusional 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
• How are airlines going carbon neutral?
https://lovethemaldives.com/faq/how-are-airlines-going-carbon-neutral
• Net zero aviation fuels
https://royalsociety.org/-/media/policy/projects/net-zero-aviation/net-zero-aviation-fuels-policy-briefing.pdf
DIRECT AIR CAPTURE
• How to make climate-neutral aviation fly
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-39749-y
• Aviation decarbonisation awaits engineering solutions
https://insight.factset.com/aviation-decarbonization-awaits-engineering-solutions
… growth in flights
PRIVATE JETS
• Ban private jets to address climate crisis, says Thomas Piketty
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/22/ban-private-jets-to-address-climate-crisis-says-thomas-piketty
• Climate policies must target the private jet set
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/nov/24/the-guardian-view-on-the-carbon-divide-climate-policies-must-target-the-private-jet-set
DEMAND GROWTH
• After the pandemic, Americans are flying again in force. Here’s why that’s a problem.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/11/23/pandemic-flying-normal-emissions/
Reducing emissions by
… fiscal measures
TICKET PRICES
• Flying within Canada affords less choice than before pandemic, after ‘massive cuts’
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/bakx-air-canada-westjet-domestic-air-travel-routes-1.7013998
• Why US travellers are snubbing budget airlines
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20231116-do-travellers-still-want-to-fly-budget-airlines
FREQUENT FLYER LEVY
• Net zero and the role of the aviation industry
https://www.chathamhouse.org/2023/11/net-zero-and-role-aviation-industry
• Frequent flyers are rewarded for polluting. Let them pay the full price
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/nov/25/poor-pay-net-zero-rishi-sunak-carbon-tax
AIR FRAME DESIGN
• US Air Force Approves New Green Aircraft Demonstrator Project
https://cleantechnica.com/2023/11/19/us-air-force-approves-new-green-aircraft-demonstrator-project/
… alternate fuels
ELECTRIC
• Electric planes, once a fantasy, start to take to the skies
https://m.timesofindia.com/world/us/electric-planes-once-a-fantasy-start-to-take-to-the-skies/articleshow/104975120.cms
• Promising electric aviation industry and its bright future
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375716384_Promising_electric_aviation_industry_and_its_bright_future
• Australia Eyes Vertiia eVTOLs For Emergency Air Ambulance Operations
https://simpleflying.com/australia-air-ambulance-vertiia-evtol/
HYDROGEN
• Renewable hydrogen takes to skies
https://www.miragenews.com/renewable-hydrogen-takes-to-skies-1119075/
• Hydrogen aircraft brings low emissions flight to the skies
https://www.energy.gov.au/news-media/news/hydrogen-aircraft-brings-low-emissions-flight-skies
• Could airports make hydrogen work as a fuel?
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67371275
… alternate travel modes
RAIL
• Research shows that bullet trains are a reliable, resilient alternative to flight disruptions caused by high winds and storms due to planetary warming.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2023/11/11/planes-trains-and-climate-change/?sh=1cf33cab2a00
GROUNDED TRAVEL
• Overseas over seas: how hard is it to travel internationally from Australia without flying?
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/25/overseas-over-seas-how-hard-is-it-to-travel-internationally-from-australia-without-flying
Climate emergency
• Carbon emissions threaten 1.5C climate threshold sooner than thought – report
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67242386
• Global warming in the pipeline
https://academic.oup.com/oocc/article/3/1/kgad008/7335889
• How We Know that Global Warming is Accelerating and that the Goal of the Paris Agreement is Dead
https://mailchi.mp/caa/how-we-know-that-global-warming-is-accelerating-and-that-the-goal-of-the-paris-agreement-is-dead?e=3763203384
• The Overshoot: Crossing the 1.50C threshold – and finding our way back
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60ccae658553d102459d11ed/t/655b0e7666b61f5567ef15e4/1700466296033/The+Overshoot+20.11.23.pdf
• COP-out: Why the petrostate-hosted climate talkfest will fail
https://johnmenadue.com/cop-out-why-the-petrostate-hosted-climate-talkfest-will-fail/
• Revealed: World’s CO2 emissions set to rise by about 1 per cent to new record in 2023
https://inews.co.uk/news/environment/revealed-worlds-co2-emissions-set-rise-new-record-2023-key-analysis-2688663
• UAE planned to use COP28 climate talks to make oil deals
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67508331