How your flight emits as much CO2 as many people do in a year
Even short-haul flights produce huge amounts of CO2,
figures show
 |
The current
crisis gives us a glimpse of how much we need to do to pull out of our
disastrous trajectory. Despite the vast changes we have made in our lives,
global carbon dioxide emissions are likely to reduce by
only about 5.5% this year. A UN
report shows that to stand a reasonable chance of avoiding 1.5C or more of
global heating, we need to cut emissions by 7.6% per
year for the next decade. In other words, the lockdown exposes
the limits of individual action.
Travelling
less helps, but not enough. To make the necessary cuts we need structural
change. This means an entirely new industrial policy, created and guided by
government.
During the
pandemic, many of us have begun to discover how much of our travel is
unnecessary. Governments can build on this to create plans for reducing the
need to move, while investing in walking, cycling and – when physical
distancing is less necessary – public transport
@GeorgeMonbiot
Wed 29 Apr
2020 06.00 BSTLast modified on Wed 29 Apr 2020 07.26 BST
Aviation emissions could triple in the next three decades
The aviation sector currently accounts for about 2% of global emissions, and is one of the fastest-growing polluters.
|
Niko
Kommenda
Fri 19 Jul
2019 09.05 GMT
Taking a
long-haul flight generates more carbon emissions than the average person in
dozens of countries around the world produces in a whole year, a new Guardian
analysis has found.
The figures
highlight the disproportionate carbon footprint of those who can afford to fly,
with even a short-haul return flight from London to Edinburgh contributing more
CO2 than the mean annual emissions of a person in Uganda or Somalia.
2019 is
forecast to be another record-breaking year for air travel, with passengers
expected to fly a total of 8.1tn km, up 5% from last year and more than 300%
since 1990.
Taking one
return flight generates more CO2 than citizens of some countries produce in a
year
London–Rome
234 kg CO2
average
citizenemits less CO2in a year
London–New
York City
986 kg CO2
London–Los
Angeles
1,650 kg
CO2
London–Perth
3,153 kg
CO2
How about your
next trip?
Flying from
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airport ...
Type 2 or
more characters for results.
to
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airport ...
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Source:
Guardian estimate based on Atmosfair data. Averaged CO2 emissions only
According
to figures from German nonprofit Atmosfair, flying from London to New York and
back generates about 986kg of CO2 per passenger. There are 56 countries where
the average person emits less carbon dioxide in a whole year – from Burundi in
Africa to Paraguay in South America.
But even a
relatively short return trip from London to Rome carries a carbon footprint of
234kg of CO2 per passenger – more than the average produced by citizens of 17
countries annually.
The figures
are averages taking into account which aircraft models are typically used on
flight routes, and the estimated occupancy of seats on board those planes. The
figures include only the CO2 generated by burning jet fuel, not any emissions
embedded in the construction of the plane or any other greenhouse gases that might
be produced, such as water vapour.
Aviation
emissions could triple in the next three decades
The
aviation sector currently accounts for about 2% of global emissions, and is one
of the fastest-growing polluters.
According
to projections from researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University,
emissions from the sector could more than double by 2050 even if planes become
substantially more fuel-efficient and airlines save additional carbon by
optimising their operations.
Under a
less optimistic scenario, a lower level of fuel savings could lead emissions to
triple by 2050.
“The
increase in traffic has historically outpaced the improvements in technology,”
says Dr John Broderick, who researches climate policy and international
transport at the University of Manchester.
How can the
aviation industry’s climate impact be regulated?
The
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) – the UN body responsible for
limiting the carbon footprint from international air travel – is introducing a
scheme aiming to offset emissions by allowing airlines to purchase carbon
credits rather than burn less fossil fuels.
Broderick
is sceptical of the scheme’s benefits. “You still have a plan to increase the
size of the industry … at a time when we should be making substantial
reductions in emissions, particularly from the rich parts of the world.”
When asked
for comment for this story, the ICAO described it as “meaningless
cherry-picking of unrelated data points”.
In 2019,
almost 40m flights are expected to depart from airports worldwide – more than
100,000 trips per day.
In 2019, an
average of more than 100,000 flights are departing from airports daily. This
map shows a particularly busy day in May, with 162,637 takeoffs recorded
Source:
flightradar24.com
Tim
Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, the industry association
representing 13 UK carriers, said: “Airlines believe we need a strategy that
meets the government’s ambition of promoting sustainable growth for our sector.
Aviation has to earn the right to expand and that’s why we’re committed to halving
our emissions by 2050, and working with national governments to agree an
ambitious plan that can deliver a zero-carbon future.”
Environmental
groups are calling on policymakers to constrain the total number of flights and
limit further expansion of airports.
Policy
proposals include a “frequent flyers’ levy” which would increase progressively
with every flight a person takes in a year while minimising the impact on those
who fly only occasionally.
“We don’t
want to penalise hardworking families that perhaps travel abroad once a year
for a holiday,” says Mike Childs, head of science, policy and research at
Friends of the Earth UK.
Childs
cited a 2014 survey by the Department for Transport which revealed that 15% of
the UK’s population took 70% of flights.
“We need to
recognise that aviation is a luxury and we need to share that luxury fairly.”
Credit and
data sources
Emissions
data for flight connections was sourced from atmosfair.de and takes into
account factors such as the fuel efficiency of different plane models and the
average passenger load factor in different regions of the world.
The
emissions estimates given in this article represent averages across all
aircraft types serving a given route. Individual airlines might operate more or
less carbon efficient planes.
The
Guardian’s interactive calculator covers the world’s 100 busiest airports and
selected UK airports.
Global
flight path data was sourced from flightradar24.com and excludes aircraft that
do not share location data with Flightradar’s network of receivers.
Emissions
projections were provided by Prof David Lee at Manchester Metropolitan
University and are based on work by Fleming and Ziegler in ICAO’s 2016
environmental report.
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