How climate change affects the civil aviation industry
During the United Nations global climate summit which ended last month in Glasgow, most of the countries on the planet have made pledges to implement more effective measures to fight against the climate crisis. The civil aviation industry which accounts for approximately 2.5% of global CO2 emissions must react quickly to keep pace with this urgent trend.
Current situation
Since the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2019, this sector has been significantly hit due to the travel restrictions and the decline in demand among travelers. In 2020, the turnover of the entire aviation industry fell dramatically. But the situation in 2021 has improved significantly, although it is still down on previous years. The number of passengers has edged up from only 1.8 billion in 2020 to 2.4 billion this year. Although this is still far from the 4.5 billion of passengers in 2019, the entire aviation industry is gradually recovering from the aftermath of the pandemic.
Travelers are more than ever conscious of the impacts of their activities. They favor other means of transport such as trains because choosing not to fly is a powerful pro-environmental action to help shrink their carbon footprint. According to statistics, trains emit 14 g of CO2 per passenger per kilometer whereas planes emit 20 times more.
Meanwhile climate change has led to an increase in extreme weather, strong storms, changed rainfall patterns and rising sea level that negatively affect flight safety. Changes in the atmospheric environment have exposed aircrafts to more and more serious electrochemical corrosion and high-temperature oxidation. All those mean that the industry must take action to adapt to climate change.
A greener industry
1. Use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)
Unlike traditional non-renewable jet fuel, sustainable aviation fuel is produced from sustainable feedstocks ranging from cooking oil, solid waste or even food scraps. In February this year, Boeing announced plans to produce commercial craft which uses 100% SAF. “We're committed to working with regulators, engine companies and other key stakeholders to ensure our airplanes and eventually our industry can fly entirely on sustainable jet fuels," said its chief executive. However due to the high cost of sustainable aviation fuel production, it must rely on policy assistance to narrow the price gap to compete with fossil fuels until it can expand the scale of production and reduce costs.
Another solution may be found with battery-powered aircraft. But since batteries are still too large and heavy for aircraft to take off and land. Therefore, it will be a challenge to develop aircraft that does not require a hard landing and does not cause structural damage to the fuselage.
2. Make aircraft design more efficient
Studies have shown that better wing design is expected to improve efficiency to a large extent. Because of this, aircraft manufacturing industry is putting lots of efforts into wing design. Moreover, thanks to applied new technologies, wings may be made of new energy-saving materials such as composite metal foam in the future.
3. Smarter operations and better infrastructure
To reduce greenhouse emissions, airports should be also involved by replacing diesel ground vehicles with electric alternatives and some even are developing their own renewable fuel sources. The organization of airline traffic can be examined on a regular basis to help create more efficient flight patterns, save fuel, and improve on-time arrivals.
Opportunities and challenges coexist
The aviation industry is extremely promising as passengers
are expected to reach more than 10 billion by 2050. There is a huge
market ahead but also big challenges. Although SAF seems to provide a perfect
solution to reduce carbon emissions, it is estimated that only 2% of aviation
fuel will be SAF by 2025.
Furthermore, decision makers shouldn’t blindly discourage
flying as the aviation sector is a vital driver of economic development, family
connections and business opportunities. Instead, if more capital enters this
industry, it will promote competition and technological upgrading in this
industry.
Ting L
651 words
https://youmatter.world/en/plane-or-cars-which-means-of-transport-pollutes-the-most/
What
is sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and why is it important? | News and views |
Air bp
https://simpleflying.com/what-might-the-aviation-industry-look-like-in-2050/
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/flying-100-sustainable-fuel-2030-boeing-announces-development-plans
https://www.atag.org/component/news/?view=pressrelease&id=124
https://cecepec.com/News/info/id/292.html
https://www.tacc.utexas.edu/-/designing-the-fuel-efficient-aircraft-of-the-future
Hello Ting, I found your article to be really interesting !
ReplyDeleteAs you said, the number of travellers is expected to grow a lot. Even with those new innovations, do you think it is actually possible to reduce greenhouse emissions when the market is growing fast ?
Nina.L
Hello, Nina. I understand your concern. I think the greenhouse emissions could be reduced if SAF were developed and used in a massive way. But for now, it remains an ambition. But one thing is sure, the market is growing fast, which means more capital will be flooding in this industry and that will nourish the innovation needed.
DeleteHello Ting, it's really encouraging to see the possible solutions for the airline industry to reduce CO2 emissions and adapt to climate change. However, faced with the fatal hit of COVID, the airline industry is now at the edge of bankruptcy. I wonder if the governments have taken any measures to save the industry or not during the pandemic ?
ReplyDeleteHello, Jingjing. Thank you for your question. As far as I know, some governments do have forthcoming strategies to help recovery the aviation sector because this sector is vital for the economic and social recovery in the long run. As the Association of British Travel Agents estimates, more than 90,000 jobs in the travel industry have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. If governments takes no action to save this sector, others sectors will be seriously affected.
Delete