The widespread introduction of many new types of aviation will have a range of implications for the environment. This topic area examines some of these and includes links for more information.
Further Reading
Flying the Perfect Green Flight - EUROCONTROL Aviation Intelligence Unit Think Paper #10, 20 April 2021. European aviation has embarked on its most important trajectory for decades: the goal of achieving the ambitious target of carbon neutrality by 2050. The political will is there, with the European ‘Green Deal’ showing the way forward: the challenge is to make every journey as environmentally friendly as possible and aim to fly the ‘perfect green flight’. This Think Paper takes the reader on a journey, looking at every aspect of a flight before, during and immediately after, to identify the main opportunities to improve aviation sustainability at each stage, the challenges that need to be tackled to get closer to that ‘perfect green flight’, and what we can do – now and in the medium term – to make that happen.
UK Climate Change Committee - The Sixth Carbon Budget - Aviation. The Committee is advising that the UK set its Sixth Carbon Budget (i.e. the legal limit for UK net emissions of greenhouse gases over the years 2033-37) to require a reduction in UK emissions of 78% by 2035 relative to 1990, a 63% reduction from 2019. This will be a world-leading commitment, placing the UK decisively on the path to Net Zero by 2050 at the latest, with a trajectory that is consistent with the Paris Agreement.
The Future of Aviation in a World of Sustainable Transport - EGIS. This paper lays out the issues that aviation is facing with regards to emissions, how these issues are changing mindsets amongst consumers and policy makers, trends in alternative modes of transport and their disruptive potential, the place of aviation in the global economy, and a way forward for businesses, governments, and regulators alike.