PowerSwitch

The Ecologist - 22/09/09

Airlines are trying to wriggle out of their obligations on carbon reductions by offering emission cuts likely to rely on offsetting, say campaigners.

Speaking on behalf of the aviation industry, British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh said the aviation industry had agreed to cut net carbon dioxide emissions to half their 2005 levels by 2050.

However, rather than any 'closed' aviation trading scheme that could be regulated to force down the sector's carbon emissions, the airlines want access to global carbon markets.

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If they wanted to count carbon offsetting they could do that today. Why wait another 41 years?

They have no choice, planes are already very well optimized (an A380 only around 10 or 15% less per passenger than a B747) and as explained in D MacKay book for instance, current planes are close to the theoretical minimum energy requirements.

There are some projects like for instance using electric engines for taxying (that represents a non negligble part of consumption)

But overall, reducing by 50% CO2 emmissions without carbon market would mean reducing their activity by 50% (which might of course well be what will happen, if not more ...)

In the time frame mentioned, airlines will probably cut emmisions by 50% simply because oil will so expensive that far fewer people will be flying.

Modern aircraft are relativly efficient, and per passenger/mile comparable to hybrid motor cars.
The problem is not the fuel used per mile, but the fact that the speed of air travell allows much longer trips.
Few people would drive 5,000 miles for a holiday or a meeting, but think nothing of flying such distances.

Or by making a (bio)fuel kerosine from a non-fossil source of carbon. Jet planes can probably be tweaked to run on 50% biofuel (if the fuel icing problem can be solved - not a show stopper).

It would probably take most of the fertile land of Africa to grow the fuel, and of course it will all be owned by China and the OPEC countries...