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The Airline-Carbon Emissions Equation:
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Airlines burn fossil-fuel, specifically jet fuel, producing carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), Volatile Organic Carbon (VOC), Water (H2O) and sulphur oxides (SOx).
- Airlines emit these gases and particles into the upper troposphere (8-13Km above the earth's surface) and lower stratosphere (13-19Km above the earth's surface) which influence the concentration of greenhouse gases, namely CO2, ozone (O3) and methane (CH4).
For details refer to IPCC Special Report - Aviation and The Global Atmosphere - Summary for Policy Makers , IPCC 1999 , http://www.ipcc.ch/pub/av(E).pdf
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The Global Warming Potentials (GWP) of green house gases
(100 year period) |
| CO2 :
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1 |
| CH4 : |
21 |
| N2O : |
310 |
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According to IPCC, for the period 1992 to 2050 the overall radiative forcing attributed to aircraft is between a factor of 2 to 4 greater than the radiative forcing by aircraft CO2 alone. In contrast, the sum total of radiative forcing for all human activities is estimated to be at most a factor of 1.5 larger than that of CO2 alone. As a consequence, there is concern that emissions from aviation may be disproportionately damaging.
- Unlike many other sectors, airlines are faced with the key constraint that, at present, there is no viable alternative to jet fuel. As a result, airlines are left to address the issue through efficiency improvements and operational optimization in the air and on the ground.
- Airlines are generally considering market based options such as carbon emission trading schemes in preference to taxation, provided such schemes do not compromise efficiency and competition.
- In many countries, there is a lack of leadership from the public sector.
- There are few if any investor resources dealing specifically with aviation.
The Effect of Aircraft Emissions on:
NOx = Nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
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