The potential for reducing the impact of aviation on climate
Abstract
The paper reviews the technical options available for reducing the impact of air travel on the Earth's climate. The three main impacts come from the emission of CO2 and NOx and the creation of contrails and cirrus cloud. The long-term potential for reducing CO2 emission is considerable, though bounded by the laws of physics. There is still greater potential for reducing NOx emission and contrail formation, although a measure to reduce any one emission can in some cases increase one or both of the others. Ideally, a balance has to be struck which minimises the total climate impact of all three. There is not yet a robust scientific basis for judging this balance. Even so, the paper outlines the technical possibilities for reducing climate impact and offers a conjectural estimate of their potential effect, when deployed in combination, on the future emissions of the world civil aircraft fleet.
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Aircraft fuel burn is proportional to CO2 emission.
“Furthermore, aircraft fuel burn is proportional to CO 2 emission [10,11].”
From Fuel consumption optimization in air transport: a review, classification, critique, simple meta-analysis, and future research implications (2015) · cites this paper as [11]
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- Authors
- Green, J. E.
- Affiliations
- Royal Aeronautical Society (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Green, J. E.
- Venue
- Technology Analysis & Strategic Management
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2009-01
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 39-59
- ISSN
- 0953-7325 (ISSN-L)
- 1465-3990
- OpenAlex
- W2020939212
- Cited by
- 39
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 0.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Technology Analysis and Strategic Management (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Advanced Aircraft Design and Technologies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Maritime Transport Emissions and Efficiency
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Aerospace Engineering › Air Traffic Management and Optimization
- Keywords
- aviation climate impact, CO2 emissions, NOx emissions, contrails, cirrus clouds, aircraft emissions reduction, climate impact mitigation
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