For many years now, it has been an oxymoron to say Sustainable and Aviation in the same sentence. Why is that?
Around 2.4% of global CO2 emissions come from aviation. Together with other gases and the water vapour trails produced by aircraft, the industry is responsible for around 5% of global warming (c. BBC.com’s how to cut your carbon emissions when flying).
Flying produces more carbon emissions than travelling by train or by car!
The question is then, should we stop flying?
There are 3 main reasons why we fly: for holidays, to visit families or for business. While we might be able to reduce domestic flights within one country by using the train or car as an alternative, let’s face it, you would rather take a flight when going to visit your family living in the other part of the world. Multinational and global businesses that contribute to the bigger part of the world’s GDP need business travel to run their businesses efficiently. In 2018, international traffic represented 41.1% of global traffic, while domestic traffic represented 58.2%. International travel is expected to increase to 45% by 2040. So, the answer is indeed, no, all findings and statistics point to the fact that we will only continue flying!
This poses another question — how can we make the aviation industry sustainable?
The industry is answering this question in 2 major ways:
- Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF): This is fuel made from food and yard waste portion of municipal solid waste, woody biomass, fats/greases/oils, and other feedstocks (c. department of energy). The goal is to replace Kerosene, the highest polluant in the aviation industry by SAF. On November 28 2023, Virgin Atlantic flew the world’s 100% SAF-powered flight from London Heathrow (LHR) to New York John F Kennedy Airport (JFK). The flight emitted 70% less than others in CO2. Virgin Atlantic showed it is indeed possible but powering all airplanes using SAF is still decades ahead as SAF is expensive to produce and requires billions of investment. Yet, companies like Virgin Atlantic have to change their business models as the way forward is no longer 100% Kerosene jet-fuel.
- Batter-powered Aircraft: AURA AERO is a french startup backed by the French government to produce a fleet of battery-powered aircraft. Other countries like Britain, US and Israel are also backing various start-ups, all focusing on the same thing. Battery-powered planes have been found to generate 75% less carbon emissions than normal ones. While this is extremely promising, we are still years away from 100% battery-powered planes.
These two innovations have brought some hope of sustainability to the aviation industry. Finding more sustainable ways to fly has expedited a change in business models for existing companies in the industry, who have to change or be drowned by the many legislations for sustainability targets. The incredible innovations of new entrants like these start-ups will bring a great wave of change to the industry.
In my opinion, we will hear more about Sustainable Aviation in the coming future!
What do you think? Can the aviation industry really be sustainable?
