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Environmental impact of aviation

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A C-141 Starlifter leaves exhaust contrails over Antarctica

Aviation impacts the environment because aircraft engines emit noise, particulates, gases, contribute to climate change[1][2] and global dimming.[3] Despite emission reductions from automobiles and more fuel-efficient and less polluting turbofan and turboprop engines, the rapid growth of air travel in recent years contributes to an increase in total pollution attributable to aviation. In the EU greenhouse gas emissions from aviation increased by 87% between 1990 and 2006.[4]

There is an ongoing debate about possible taxation of air travel and the inclusion of aviation in an emissions trading scheme, with a view to ensuring that the total external costs of aviation are taken into account.[5]

Climate change

Radiative forcings from aviation emissions (gases and aerosols) in 1992 as estimated by the IPCC

Like all human activities involving combustion, most forms of aviation release carbon dioxide (CO2) into the Earth's atmosphere, very likely contributing to the acceleration of global warming. Exceptions include hang gliding, paragliding, winch-launched gliders — where the winch is not powered by fossil fuels — and human- or other non-combustion powered flight.

In addition to the CO2 released by most aircraft in flight through the burning of fuels such as Jet-A (turbine aircraft) or Avgas (piston aircraft), the aviation industry also contributes greenhouse gas emissions from ground airport vehicles and those used by passengers and staff to access airports, as well as through emissions generated by the production of energy used in airport buildings, the manufacture of aircraft and the construction of airport infrastructure.

While the principal greenhouse gas emission from powered aircraft in flight is CO2, other emissions may include nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide, (together termed oxides of nitrogen or NOx), water vapour and particulates (soot and sulfate particles), sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide (which bonds with oxygen to become CO2 immediately upon release), incompletely-burned hydrocarbons, tetra-ethyl lead (piston aircraft only), and radicals such as hydroxyl, depending on the type of aircraft in use.[6]

The contribution of civil aircraft-in-flight to global CO2 emissions has been estimated at around 2%.[6] However, in the case of high-altitude airliners which frequently fly near or in the stratosphere, non-CO2 altitude-sensitive effects may increase the total impact on anthropogenic (man-made) climate change significantly[6] — this problem is not present for aircraft that routinely operate at lower altitudes well inside the troposphere, such as balloons, airships, helicopters, most light aircraft, and many commuter aircraft.[citation needed]

Mechanisms

Subsonic aircraft-in-flight contribute to climate change[6] in four ways:

Carbon dioxide (CO2)
CO2 emissions from aircraft-in-flight are the most significant and best understood[7] element of aviation's total contribution to climate change. The level and effects of CO2 emissions are currently believed to be broadly the same regardless of altitude (i.e they have the same atmospheric effects as ground based emissions). In 1992, emissions of CO2 from aircraft were estimated at around 2% of all such anthropogenic emissions, though CO2 concentration attributable to aviation in 1992 was around 1% of the total anthropogenic increase, because emissions occurred only in the last 50 years.[8]
Oxides of nitrogen (NOx)
At the high altitudes flown by large jet airliners around the tropopause, emissions of NOx are particularly effective in forming ozone (O3) in the upper troposphere. High altitude (8-13km) NOx emissions result in greater concentrations of O3 than surface NOx emissions, and these in turn have a greater global warming effect. The effect of O3 concentrations are regional and local (as opposed to CO2 emissions, which are global).
NOx emissions also reduce ambient levels of methane, another greenhouse gas, resulting in a climate cooling effect. But this effect does not offset the O3 forming effect of NOx emissions. It is now believed that aircraft sulfur and water emissions in the stratosphere tend to deplete O3, partially offsetting the NOx-induced O3 increases. These effects have not been quantified.[8] This problem does not apply to aircraft that fly lower in the troposphere, such as light aircraft or many commuter aircraft.
Water vapor (H2O)
Contrails
File:Dec-10-Field-Done.jpg
Cirrus cloud formation
Very large aircraft-in-flight at high altitude emit water vapour, a greenhouse gas, which under certain atmospheric conditions forms Condensation trails, or contrails. Contrails are visible line clouds that form in cold, humid atmospheres and are thought to have a global warming effect (though one less significant than either CO2 emissions or NOx induced effects) SPM-2. Contrails are extremely rare from lower-altitude aircraft, or from propeller aircraft or rotorcraft.
Cirrus clouds have been observed to develop after the persistent formation of contrails and have been found to have a global warming effect over-and-above that of contrail formation alone. There is a degree of scientific uncertainty about the contribution of contrail and cirrus cloud formation to global warming and attempts to estimate aviation's overall climate change contribution do not tend to include its effects on cirrus cloud enhancement.[7]
Particulates
Least significant is the release of soot and sulfate particles. Soot absorbs heat and has a warming effect; sulfate particles reflect radiation and have a small cooling effect. In addition, they can influence the formation and properties of clouds.[9] All aircraft powered by combustion will release some amount of soot.

Emissions per passenger kilometre

Emissions of passenger aircraft per passenger kilometre vary extensively, according to variables such as the size of the aircraft, the number of passengers on board, and the altitude and distance of the journey (the practical effect of emissions at high altitides may be greater than those of emissions at low altitudes). However, some representative figures for emissions are provided by LIPASTO's survey of average passenger aircraft emissions per passenger kilometre in Finland 2008: expressed as CO2 equivalent,[10]

  • Domestic, short distance, less than 463 km (288 mi): 259 g (9 oz)
  • Domestic, long distance, greater than 463 km (288 mi): 178 g (6 oz)
  • Long distance flights: 114 g (4 oz)

This is similar to the emissions from a four-seat car with one person on board.[11]

Per passenger kilometre, figures from British Airways suggest carbon dioxide emissions of 0.1 kg for large jet airliners (a figure which does not account for the production of other pollutants or condensation trails).[12]

Total effect

In attempting to aggregate and quantify the climate impact of aircraft emissions the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has estimated that aviation’s total climate impact is some 2-4 times that of its CO2 emissions alone (excluding the potential impact of cirrus cloud enhancement).[6] This is measured as radiative forcing. While there is uncertainty about the exact level of impact of NOx and water vapour, governments have accepted the broad scientific view that they do have an effect. Accordingly, more recent UK government policy statements have stressed the need for aviation to address its total climate change impacts and not simply the impact of CO2.[13]

The IPCC has estimated that aviation is responsible for around 3.5% of anthropogenic climate change, a figure which includes both CO2 and non-CO2 induced effects. The IPCC has produced scenarios estimating what this figure could be in 2050. The central case estimate is that aviation’s contribution could grow to 5% of the total contribution by 2050 if action is not taken to tackle these emissions, though the highest scenario is 15%[6]. Moreover, if other industries achieve significant cuts in their own greenhouse gas emissions, aviation’s share as a proportion of the remaining emissions could also rise.

Potential reductions

Modern jet aircraft are significantly more fuel efficient (and thus emit less CO2 in particular) than 30 years ago. [14]. Moreover, manufacturers have forecast and are committed to achieving reductions in both CO2 and NOx emissions with each new generation of design of aircraft and engine.[15] Thus, the accelerated introduction of more modern aircraft represents a major opportunity to reduce emissions per passenger kilometre flown.[citation needed]

Other opportunities arise from the optimisation of airline timetables, route networks and flight frequencies to increase load factors (minimise the number of empty seats flown),[16] together with the optimisation of airspace.

Another possible reduction of the climate-change impact is the limitation of cruise altitude of aircraft. This would lead to a significant reduction in high-altitude contrails for a marginal trade-off of increased flight time and an estimated 4% increase in CO2 emissions. Drawbacks of this solution include very limited airspace capacity to do this, especially in Europe and North America and increased fuel burn because jet aircraft are less efficient at lower cruise altitudes.[17]

However, the total number of passenger kilometres is growing at a faster rate than manufacturers can reduce emissions, and at present there is no readily available alternative to burning kerosene. Thus, the growth in the aviation sector is likely to continue to generate an increasing volume of greenhouse gas emissions. However some scientists and companies such as GE Aviation and Virgin Fuels are researching biofuel technology for use in jet aircraft.[18] As part of this test Virgin Atlantic Airways flew a Boeing 747 from London Heathrow Airport to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport on 24 February 2008, with one engine burning a combination of coconut oil and babassu oil.[18] Greenpeace's chief scientist Doug Parr said that the flight was "high-altitude greenwash" and that producing organic oils to make biofuel could lead to deforestation and a large increase in greenhouse gas emissions.[18]

The majority of the world's aircraft are not large jetliners but smaller piston aircraft, and many are capable of using ethanol as a fuel, with major modifications.[19] While ethanol also releases CO2 during combustion, the plants cultivated to make it draw that same CO2 out of the atmosphere while they are growing, making the fuel closer to climate-change-neutral. The only problem is the US government's choice of using ethanol from corn, since it takes more energy to produce than is returned, it displaces food crops and thus raises the price of food, and causes soil degradation.[20][21]

While they are not suitable for long-haul or transoceanic flights, turboprop aircraft used for commuter flights bring two significant benefits: they often burn considerably less fuel per passenger mile, and they typically fly at lower altitudes, well inside the tropopause, where there are no concerns about ozone or contrail production. For even shorter flights, air taxi service using newer, fuel-efficient four- or six-seat light piston aircraft could provide an even lower environmental impact.[citation needed]

Reducing travel

An alternative method for reducing the environmental impact of aviation is to constrain demand for air travel. The UK study Predict and Decide - Aviation, climate change and UK policy, notes that a 10% increase in fares generates a 5% to 15% reduction in demand, and recommends that the British government should manage demand rather than provide for it.[22] This would be accomplished via a strategy that presumes "… against the expansion of UK airport capacity" and constrains demand by the use of economic instruments to price air travel less attractively.[23] A study published by the campaign group Aviation Environment Federation (AEF) concludes that by levying £9 billion of additional taxes, the annual rate of growth in demand in the UK for air travel would be reduced to 2%.[24] The ninth report of the House of Commons Environmental Audit Select Committee, published in July 2006, recommends that the British government rethinks its airport expansion policy and considers ways, particularly via increased taxation, in which future demand can be managed in line with industry performance in achieving fuel efficiencies, so that emissions are not allowed to increase in absolute terms.[25]

Kyoto Protocol

Greenhouse gas emissions from fuel consumption in international aviation, in contrast to those from domestic aviation and from energy use by airports, are not assigned under the first round of the Kyoto Protocol, neither are the non-CO2 climate effects. In place of agreement, Governments agreed to work through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to limit or reduce emissions and to find a solution to the allocation of emissions from international aviation in time for the second round of Kyoto in 2009 in Copenhagen.[citation needed]

Emissions trading

As part of that process the ICAO has endorsed the adoption of an open emissions trading system to meet CO2 emissions reduction objectives. Guidelines for the adoption and implementation of a global scheme are currently being developed, and will be presented to the ICAO Assembly in 2007,[26] although the prospects of a comprehensive inter-governmental agreement on the adoption of such a scheme are uncertain.

Within the European Union, however, the European Commission has resolved to incorporate aviation in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).[27] A new directive has been adopted by the European Parliament in July 2008 and approved by the Council in October 2008. It will enter into force on 1 January 2012.[citation needed]

Mitigation

The use of aviation biofuels and fuel efficiency measures reduces the impact of aviation on greenhouse gas emissions.[28]

Noise

Main article: Aircraft noise

Aircraft noise is seen by advocacy groups as being very hard to get attention and action on. The fundamental issues are increased traffic at larger airports and airport expansion at smaller and regional airports.[29]

Air quality

Main article: Air pollution

See also

References

  1. ^ International Civil Aviation Organization, Air Transport Bureau (ATB) (undated). "Aircraft Engine Emissions". Retrieved 2008-03-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  2. ^ Enviro.aero (undated). "What is the impact of flying?". Retrieved 2008-03-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  3. ^ Travis, David J. (2002). "Contrails reduce daily temperature range" (PDF). Nature. 418: 601. doi:10.1038/418601a. {{cite journal}}: More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help)
  4. ^ "Climate change: Commission proposes bringing air transport into EU Emissions Trading Scheme" (Press release). EU press release. 2006-12-20. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  5. ^ Including Aviation into the EU ETS: Impact on EU allowance prices ICF Consulting for DEFRA February 2006
  6. ^ a b c d e f IPCC, Aviation and the Global Atmosphere: A Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (1999), Cambridge University Press
  7. ^ a b Sausen, Robert (2005). "Aviation radiative forcing in 2000: an update on IPCC" (PDF). Meteorologische Zeitschrift. 14 (4). Gebrüder Borntraeger: 555–561. doi:10.1127/0941-2948/2005/0049. Retrieved 2008-01-12. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ a b Aviation and the Global Atmosphere: A Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (1999), Cambridge University Press
  9. ^ "Questions & Answers on Aviation & Climate Change". European Commission. 2005-09-17. Retrieved 2008-01-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ http://lipasto.vtt.fi/yksikkopaastot/henkiloliikennee/ilmaliikennee/ilmae.htm accessed 3rd July 2009
  11. ^ 180g CO2 equivalent in Finland in 2007: http://lipasto.vtt.fi/yksikkopaastot/henkiloliikennee/tieliikennee/henkiloautote/hayhte.htm accessed 3rd July 2009
  12. ^ Goodall, Chris (2007-02-08). How to Live a Low-carbon Life: The Individual's Guide to Stopping Climate Change. Earthscan Publications Ltd. p. 326. ISBN 1844074269.p. 222
  13. ^ The Future of Air Transport White Paper (2003), HMSO "The aviation industry is encouraged to take account of, and where appropriate reduce, its contribution to global warming...The impact of aviation on climate change is increased over that of direct CO2 emissions alone by some of the other emissions released and their specific effects at altitude".
  14. ^ IATA/ATAG, Aviation & the Environment (1999) "Aircraft fuel efficiency has improved by some 50% over the past 30 years"
  15. ^ Advisory Council for Aeronautical Research in Europe (ACARE) Strategic Research Agenda (2002) "These objectives include, inter alia, a 50% cut in CO2 and 80% in Nox emissions" [for new aircraft introduced in 2020 relative to new aircraft introduced in 2000].
  16. ^ International Civil Aviation Organization Operational Opportunities to Minimize Fuel Use and Reduce Emissions (2001)
  17. ^ Williams, Victoria (November 2002). "Reducing the climate change impacts of aviation by restricting cruise altitudes". Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment. 7 (6): 451–464. doi:10.1016/S1361-9209(02)00013-5. Retrieved 2008-04-08. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ a b c CBC News (2008). "Airline flies jumbo jet powered by biofuel". Retrieved 2008-02-24. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  19. ^ South Dakota State University (2006). "Active Projects". Retrieved 2008-02-19.
  20. ^ Thornton, Jim (2004). "Ethanol from corn: burning money and oil". Retrieved 2008-02-19. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  21. ^ Science Daily (2005). "Study: Ethanol Production Consumes Six Units Of Energy To Produce Just One". Retrieved 2008-02-19. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  22. ^ Cairns, Dr Sally & Carey Newson; et al. (2006). "Predict and decide - Aviation, climate change and UK policy" (PDF). pp. 96, section 11.9. Retrieved 2008-05-31. {{cite web}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |first= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  23. ^ Cairns, Dr Sally & Carey Newson; et al. (2006). "Predict and decide - Aviation, climate change and UK policy" (PDF). p. 4. Retrieved 2008-05-31. {{cite web}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |first= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  24. ^ Sewill, Brendon (February 2003). "The Hidden Cost of Flying" (PDF). Aviation Environment Federation. pp. 19–20. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
  25. ^ "Select Committee on Environmental Audit Ninth Report". British House of Commons. 19 July 2006. pp. paras. 112, 118–125, 113–114 & 126–133. Retrieved 2007-11-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ ICAO news release 30 November 2005 "ICAO is also considering market-based options to address engine emissions through the participation of aviation in emissions trading schemes and the use of emissions levies related to local air quality. Guidelines for Contracting States wishing to implement such measures are being formulated and should be completed in time for the next regular Session of the ICAO Assembly in the Fall of 2007, when direction for future action will be set."
  27. ^ European Commission, Reducing the Climate Change Impact of Aviation (2005)]
  28. ^ "Beginner's Guide to Aviation Biofuels" (PDF). Air Transport Action Group. May 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
  29. ^ Noise Pollution Clearinghouse (undated). "Aviation Noise". Retrieved 2007-12-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
Organisations
News
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