Many environmentalists would contend that air travel is completely incompatible with a sustainable lifestyle. We look at the recent progress of the aviation industry and explore whether an absolutist stance against flying is the most appropriate response.
Image: ©Solar Impulse/ Jean Revillard/ Rezo.ch – Cairo, Egypt, July 13th 2016. Solar Impulse 2 flying over the Pyramids.
The transition to green aviation
The path to a more sustainable aviation sector is a complex one. Although air travel accounts for only two and a half percent of global carbon emissions, it is one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonise (Our World In Data, 2020).
The main barrier to a green transition is the disparity between the sector’s positive gains in efficiency versus the uptick in consumer demand. Pre-pandemic, the aviation sector was improving its efficiency per annum by around three percent, while demand was increasing by about five percent. If this trend continues, the growth in carbon emissions from the sector will dwarf the potential reductions.
Global demand for air travel has been growing primarily because of the new lifestyle habits of the emerging middle class in India and China, with the latter now leading the world in terms of aviation capacity (Guardian, 2021).
Despite the present barriers to green growth, governments and innovative startup companies are beginning to make their mark. We look at how the sector is attempting to achieve its climate goals.
Alternative fuels
Fuel consumption accounts for the majority of the aviation industry’s emissions output. This means that finding a suitable replacement to conventional jet fuel is fundamental to the sector’s green transition.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) has emerged as a possible long term substitute.
SAF profile
- SAF is a biofuel which has similar properties to conventional jet fuel, and it can be manufactured from biomass products such as corn grain, oil seeds, algae and solid municipal waste (US Department of Energy, 2022).
- Over 40 airlines now have experience with using SAF in some form. Including Malaysia Airlines, who announced that they would operate commercial flights on their busy Kuala Lumpur – Singapore route using a SAF blend (Simple Flying 2022).
- The cost of SAF is significantly higher than petroleum-based fuels. In 2020, the price of jet fuel was 0.5 dollars per litre, compared with SAF which was 1.1 dollars per litre (Simple Flying, 2022).
- Currently, SAF accounts for less than one percent of the estimated 300 million tonnes of fuel used each year by commercial airlines (World Economic Forum, 2021).
Despite the obvious potential of SAF, there are some clear barriers to prevent its widespread commercial use, primarily cost. However, steps have been taken in several markets to improve the competitiveness of SAF against conventional jet fuel.
The European Union’s new rules will make flying with jet fuel incrementally more expensive while incentivising the purchase of SAF. From 2025, the EU will obli壯陽藥 gate airlines to purchase CO2 emissions rights. Previously large parts of the aviation industry were exempt from this emissions regulation due to the high level of competition in the sector, however in light of the EU’s net zero target, the decision has been reversed.
Without any free emissions allowances the aviation industry will have to seriously consider their fuel policies. Under the EU’s ‘SAF allowances’ they can effectively cancel out their losses when buying SAF instead of jet fuel by claiming the price difference back in CO2 allowances, which they can sell on the EU ETS.
California has a similar scheme to increase the use of SAF. SAF was added to the state’s Low-Carbon Fuel Standard program, which issues tradable credits for the purchase of various sustainable fuels (World Economic Forum, 2021).
Efficient flight management
The pioneering use of Big Data and AI is helping drive down emissions in the aviation sector. Managing flight data has been a consistent problem for airline workers, so optimizing performance monitoring and data sharing will empower pilots and engineers to make better and more informed decisions.
OpenAirlines’ is currently working with big airlines, including Easyjet and Air France, to monitor their fleet’s performance and identify solutions to reduce fuel use (OpenAirlines, 2022). The Sky Breathe program works by analysing an aircraft’s cruise (phase of the flight between takeoff and landing) performance, and then providing an overall performance report. AI tools then search for abnormalities by comparing the latest report to cruise data from older flight records.
The main benefit of this innovation in data technology is that airlines can more accurately predict their fuel consumption. In 2019, the airlines using the Sky Breathe program passed on significant savings to their customers, in terms of flight costs and carbon emissions. OpenAirlines estimates that these savings total more than 150 million dollars and over 600,000 tonnes of CO2 (OpenAirlines, 2019).
Electric planes
The idea of producing electric planes to a commercial scale may sound like a wishful fantasy, however, one European country is certain they can defy the odds.
Norway, already a world leader in electric car use per capita, has set its sights on expanding its low carbon transport sector. By 2040, the Scandinavian government hopes to build a fleet of electric planes that will perform all domestic flights under one and a half hours in duration (electrive.com, 2018).
Norway’s short-haul flight revolution is an incredible step, however it might represent the limit for electric aircraft technology. For long-haul flights, the road to a full electric fleet is a lot more uncertain. This is primarily due to the low energy density of an electric battery, in short, a jumbo jet, such as a Boeing 747, powered by electricity would have a serious weight issue.
Energy density refers to the amount of energy that can be contained in a specified area or space. This is usually calculated in the aviation industry by assessing how many watt-hours you can get per kilogram of weight.
For lithium batteries in electric aircrafts the watt-hours per kilogram ratio is 250 watt-hours per one kilogram. Whereas for conventional jet fuel the energy density is 12,000 watt-hours per kilogram (BBC, 2020). The huge discrepancy in energy density is a difficult problem to solve because distributing the weight of liquid jet fuel is significantly easier than dividing the weight of a solid battery.
How can we become more sustainable air travellers?
1. Take fewer flights
We cannot escape the reality that in its current state air transport is not a sustainable form of travel. Therefore, if we want to strongly adhere to our sustainable principles we should only fly when absolutely necessary. For example, for short domestic trips, we have to promote more environmentally friendly methods of transportation such as high-speed train services.
For many, this habit change might feel like a significant sacrifice. However, the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent pause in international travel showed that it is possible to adapt. For business travellers, new technology has given them the option to conduct meetings on video conferencing applications; and for families, they can choose to explore holiday destinations closer to home.
2. Choose the right destination
If your economic circumstances afford you the privilege of international air travel and it is something that you believe will enhance your life, then make sure the journey counts!
There are many places around the world of cultural and natural significance which not only rely heavily on tourism, but use the revenue generated from visitors to fund green projects. Here is a selection of destinations that are serious about sustainable and responsible tourism:
Monteverde, Costa Rica
In the cloud forests of Monteverde, one of the world’s hotspots for biodiversity, the local government plans to promote eco-tourism by expanding hiking trails, training new environmental guides and building a new sanitation system which will conserve water and energy (Tico Times, 2020).
Grenoble, France
The city in the southeast of France has earned the status of Europe’s Green Capital for 2022 due to its commitment to sustainability. This includes improving its transport options for tourists by building a tram network and creating 450 km of safe cycle lanes (Green Grenoble 2022).
The Highlands, Scotland
The small European country has an abundance of natural resources and works hard to protect them. New certification schemes, such as Green Tourism and Green Key, provide important financial and technical support to Scottish businesses within the travel sector (Visit Scotland, 2022). If you visit a business with one of these certifications, you can be confident that they are monitoring their waste and encouraging their suppliers to become more sustainable.
3. Demand action
Scrutinising our personal consumption and making better choices are vital steps towards a sustainable future but, we must collectively demand more from our governments and the global aviation sector.
A portion of the campaigns and social movements around air travel have focussed primarily on the actions of individual consumers instead of more influential decision makers.
For example, flygskam or flight shame was a movement to persuade more people to stop flying. The intentions of the movement were noble, however, it shifts the onus for action onto individuals. Ultimately, it feeds into a false narrative that consumers alone can initiate change through adopting new habits. This is especially untrue in the air travel sector because the people buying the tickets represent a minority of consumers who are, in global terms, extremely economically privileged.
As individuals, we need to use our voices to call for change, when we cannot use our hands to solve the situation.
If you want to learn more about the aviation industry and its attempts to introduce more sustainable practices, chec犀利士 k out these resources:
https://www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/sustainable-aviation-fuels
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