Blue sky thinking-Net zero aviation is more than a flight of fantasy

News: Emissions from aviation industry have almost doubled since 2000 and reached one billion ton in 2018. 

To reduce emissions from aviation sector and make it net-zero will require a huge collaborative effort between industry, government and consumers. 

What has been the efforts by the aviation sector towards the net-zero goal? 

The aviation sector’s progress in cutting emissions has been very slow. 

At the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, the industry put forth a plan known as the Carbon offsetting and reduction scheme for international aviation. 

But the drawback of the scheme is that it is based on carbon offsetting, which means even its implementation will not lead to absolute emission reduction from aviation sector. 

It will only encourage another actor to reduce emissions on its behalf at lowest cost. 

Although on a positive note the scheme does encourage alternative cleaner fuels. 

Why governments have failed to lower emissions from aviation sector? 

1) Pollution from aviation is not counted in the emissions of any country, leaving little incentive for governments to act.  

 2) Aviation involves multiple stakeholders which makes introducing changes difficult. 

What is the way forward?

1) Enhance production and deployment of new aviation fuels and technologies: Jet fuel can be replaced with alternatives such as sustainable fuels or electric or hydrogen propulsion. 

2) Update regulatory and certification processes for new types of aircraft– Electric and hybrid aircraft have been a latest development in this regard but are yet to become a commercially viable option. 

They are powered by hydrogen or a battery/ any sustainable fuel. 

They not only reduce carbon emissions but also reduce non-CO₂ climate impacts such as oxides of nitrogen (NOx), soot particles, oxidized Sulphur species, and water vapour.  

They also have lower maintenance costs.  

3) Fuel demand can be reduced through efficiencies in route and air traffic management. 

4) Greener airport and infrastructure will significantly help lower emissions. 

5) Experts like Pilots and aerospace engineers can be consulted while designing policies. 

Source: This post is based on the article “Blue sky thinking-Net zero aviation is more than a flight of fantasy” published in Down to earth on 20^th Dec 2021.