Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by janrinok on Sunday September 22 2019, @03:38AM   Printer-friendly
from the fly-in-the-ointment dept.

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

'Worse Than Anyone Expected': Air Travel Emissions Vastly Outpace Predictions

Greenhouse gas emissions from commercial air travel are growing at a faster clip than predicted in previous, already dire, projections, according to new research — putting pressure on airline regulators to take stronger action as they prepare for a summit next week.

The United Nations aviation body forecasts that airplane emissions of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, will reach just over 900 million metric tons in 2018, and then triple by 2050.

But the new research, from the International Council on Clean Transportation, found that emissions from global air travel may be increasing more than 1.5 times as fast as the U.N. estimate. The researchers analyzed nearly 40 million flights around the world last year.

"Airlines, for all intents and purposes, are becoming more fuel efficient. But we're seeing demand outstrip any of that," said Brandon Graver, who led the new study. "The climate challenge for aviation is worse than anyone expected."

Airlines in recent years have invested in lighter, more fuel-efficient aircraft, and have explored powering their planes with biofuel.

Over all, air travel accounts for about 2.5 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions — a far smaller share than emissions from passenger cars or power plants. Still, one study found that the rapid growth in plane emissions could mean that by 2050, aviation could take up a quarter of the world's "carbon budget," or the amount of carbon dioxide emissions permitted to keep global temperature rise to within 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.

[...] The decision by Greta Thunberg, a young climate activist, to sail across the Atlantic rather than travel by air ahead of her speech at the United Nations next week, has refocused attention on aviation's role in causing climate change and its consequences, including sea-level rise and more intense heat waves, hurricanes, flooding and drought.

Climate protesters have said they plan to gather in Montreal next week, where airline regulators are set to hold their own summit.

William Raillant-Clark, a spokesman for the U.N. aviation body, stood by its emissions projection, which he said was "the most up-to-date" and provided "a clear picture on the future environmental trends." He added that the group "endorses and welcomes wholeheartedly" calls for the aviation industry to address climate change with greater urgency.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 22 2019, @02:07PM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 22 2019, @02:07PM (#897102)

    Lots of things are more efficient than aircraft - but only in theory.

    The thing is that aircraft make it possible to travel long distance more quickly, which makes it easier to tolerate the conditions necessary to achieve that fuel economy. Everyone complains about flying cattle class, but you can put up with it for three hours. To achieve the same fuel economy per passenger on other transport, you would have to put up with it for two or three days. Nobody is riding a fully loaded bus for three days, nobody is riding a packed train for three days in an ordinary seat. (Maybe in a sleeper, but then so much for the fuel economy advantage).

    And that's just for cross continent travel. Intercontinental travel without aircraft takes weeks.

    It's almost as if people and businesses working together and making free choices naturally choose the most efficient way to do things! Unbelievable! Well, to certain people anyway.

  • (Score: 2) by Nuke on Sunday September 22 2019, @04:25PM (3 children)

    by Nuke (3162) on Sunday September 22 2019, @04:25PM (#897143)

    Nobody is riding a fully loaded bus for three days, nobody is riding a packed train for three days

    Trains can travel a hell of a lot faster than buses.

    • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Sunday September 22 2019, @05:15PM

      by Grishnakh (2831) on Sunday September 22 2019, @05:15PM (#897166)

      In places like Japan and Germany, they certainly do. In America, not so much.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 22 2019, @07:01PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 22 2019, @07:01PM (#897217)

      Not in America. It would be restricted to 80 mph max and have to stop at every farm in Big Joe's constituency.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 23 2019, @06:03AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 23 2019, @06:03AM (#897430)

      Not faster than planes, though.

      Americans frequently like to travel between, for example, Los Angeles and New York. This is a distance roughly equivalent to traveling from Lisbon to Bucharest (it's actually a little farther). I attempted to plan a train trip from Lisbon to Bucharest and it would take three days, plus changing trains six times.

      Trains work in Europe because Europeans don't frequently go very far.

  • (Score: 2) by Hartree on Sunday September 22 2019, @05:46PM

    by Hartree (195) on Sunday September 22 2019, @05:46PM (#897175)

    "Nobody is riding a fully loaded bus for three days"

    Really? I've certainly done it on charter buses, tour buses, etc.

    Nobody is a pretty strong word.

    A couple days on Greyhound isn't that uncommon for me and though it varies as passengers get off and on at stops the bus is usually far from empty.

    I've not flown commercial since about 2005. Nothing against it, but it's happened that when I've been taking long trips recently I've usually needed to take a lot of stuff with me so it was a fully loaded Suburban perhaps with cargo trailer. (I used to do lighting and sound for some sci-fi conventions.)