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26-11-2021, 04:44 PM
Paul Sillers, CNN • Published 24th November 2021
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Aviation generates 2.8% of global CO2 emissions and, even before the recent COP26 climate talks, has become a lightning rod for the "flight shame" movement.
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Numerous airlines have already pledged to offer carbon-neutral travel and explore alternative fuels to reduce pollution. Developments in electric airplanes, though still a distant possibility for long-haul flight, have also raised hopes for green air travel.
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So how close are we to guilt-free and genuinely low-impact flying?
It's definitely a priority for the industry. At its annual meeting in October, IATA, the International Air Transport Association, rubber stamped a resolution in support of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
That's a tall order. It's anticipated that 10 billion people will be flying annually by 2050, which by today's emission standards means that the aviation industry will need to deal with a cumulative total of 21.2 gigatons of carbon over the next three decades.
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"A potential scenario is that 65% of [carbon] will be abated through sustainable aviation fuels," Willie Walsh, the former British Airways boss who is now IATA's director general, said in a press release.
Sustainable fuels, made from materials such as wood residue deposits, tobacco or sugarcane, can already be used in many of today's newer jet engines without any modification.
Walsh says new propulsion tech, including hydrogen, will take care of another 13% while efficiency improvements will account for a further 3%. The remainder, he says, could be dealt with "through carbon capture and storage and offsets."
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Over its life cycle, sustainable aviation fuel reduces up to 80% of greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil jet fuel use. And that's why its deployment is key to reaching the 2050 targets.
So what's the downside? A key one is price. Sustainable jet fuel costs around three times as much as its fossil-based counterpart. In the pre-Covid era of 2019, less than 200,000 metric tonnes of SAF were produced globally -- a tiny fraction of the 300 million tonnes of jet fuel needed by commercial airlines in a normal year.
Post-Covid, air travel is already expected to get more expensive due to uncertain demand. Green air travel is likely to be even more costly, which could lead to slower uptake.
......
Airbus, is betting on hydrogen to change aviation's trajectory for short- and medium-haul flight.
In a high-profile pivot last year, Airbus switched from a strong focus on the development of small electric planes to a new initiative exploring the potential of hydrogen.
It revealed a trio of hydrogen-powered zero-emission airliner concepts, under the banner ZEROe, which could enter service by 2035.
There are still plenty of obstacles to the widespread adoption of hydrogen. For one thing, airports don't have the infrastructure to store and deploy it.
More alternatives at: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/a...index.html
......
Aviation generates 2.8% of global CO2 emissions and, even before the recent COP26 climate talks, has become a lightning rod for the "flight shame" movement.
......
Numerous airlines have already pledged to offer carbon-neutral travel and explore alternative fuels to reduce pollution. Developments in electric airplanes, though still a distant possibility for long-haul flight, have also raised hopes for green air travel.
......
So how close are we to guilt-free and genuinely low-impact flying?
It's definitely a priority for the industry. At its annual meeting in October, IATA, the International Air Transport Association, rubber stamped a resolution in support of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
That's a tall order. It's anticipated that 10 billion people will be flying annually by 2050, which by today's emission standards means that the aviation industry will need to deal with a cumulative total of 21.2 gigatons of carbon over the next three decades.
......
"A potential scenario is that 65% of [carbon] will be abated through sustainable aviation fuels," Willie Walsh, the former British Airways boss who is now IATA's director general, said in a press release.
Sustainable fuels, made from materials such as wood residue deposits, tobacco or sugarcane, can already be used in many of today's newer jet engines without any modification.
Walsh says new propulsion tech, including hydrogen, will take care of another 13% while efficiency improvements will account for a further 3%. The remainder, he says, could be dealt with "through carbon capture and storage and offsets."
......
Over its life cycle, sustainable aviation fuel reduces up to 80% of greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil jet fuel use. And that's why its deployment is key to reaching the 2050 targets.
So what's the downside? A key one is price. Sustainable jet fuel costs around three times as much as its fossil-based counterpart. In the pre-Covid era of 2019, less than 200,000 metric tonnes of SAF were produced globally -- a tiny fraction of the 300 million tonnes of jet fuel needed by commercial airlines in a normal year.
Post-Covid, air travel is already expected to get more expensive due to uncertain demand. Green air travel is likely to be even more costly, which could lead to slower uptake.
......
Airbus, is betting on hydrogen to change aviation's trajectory for short- and medium-haul flight.
In a high-profile pivot last year, Airbus switched from a strong focus on the development of small electric planes to a new initiative exploring the potential of hydrogen.
It revealed a trio of hydrogen-powered zero-emission airliner concepts, under the banner ZEROe, which could enter service by 2035.
There are still plenty of obstacles to the widespread adoption of hydrogen. For one thing, airports don't have the infrastructure to store and deploy it.
More alternatives at: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/a...index.html
