Climate Action Merribek: people in Brunswick, Coburg, Fawkner and Glenroy wanting action on climate change

Aviation emissions – articles from the Conversation website

The Conversation website is a platform for academics and researchers to share their knowledge and scientific expertise and research in a readily accessible and readable format. A selection of articles on tackling aviation emissions and aviation climate impact are listed below from 2014. This includes possible solutions such as early electric aviation, High Speed Rail, Sustainable Aviation Fuels, frequent flyer levies and demand management, opposing airport expansions:

• April 3, 2023 – Capitalising on climate anxiety: what you need to know about ‘climate-washing’ Laura Schuijers, University of Sydney. While the ACCC, ASIC and a new senate inquiry begin to flush out greenwashing, we take a closer look at dodgy climate claims. Complaints and court cases are stacking up. Here’s what you need to know. The case of Etihad greenwashing covered.
• February 22, 2023 – The future of flight in a net-zero-carbon world: 9 scenarios, lots of sustainable aviation fuel
  Candelaria Bergero, University of California, Irvine and Steve Davis, University of California, Irvine. Airlines are investing in sustainable biofuel startups and starting to uses alternative fuels, including cooking oil, ag waste and corn ethanol. But biofuels alone won’t be enough, research shows.
• February 13, 2023 – Why restoring long-distance passenger rail makes sense in New Zealand – for people and the climate
  Robert McLachlan, Massey University and Paul Callister, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington. As part of its target to cut emissions, New Zealand aims for a 20% reduction in driving by 2035, mainly through better urban planning and travel options. Why doesn’t the plan mention intercity rail?
• January 31, 2023 – X-57: Nasa’s electric plane is preparing to fly – here’s how it advances emissions–free aviation
  Hugh Hunt, University of Cambridge. Batteries could well be powering short-haul flights in the near future.
• December 22, 2022 – Why electric vehicles won’t be enough to rein in transport emissions any time soon
  Philip Laird, University of Wollongong. Converting to electric cars is going to take time. With transport being Australia’s fastest-growing source of emissions, action on all fronts – road, rail, sea and aviation – is needed. Although domestic flights were producing just 9% of all pre-COVID transport emissions in Australia, a 50% increase in aviation emissions from 2005 to 2019 demands government action to limit further growth. This will be a challenge given Australians’ reliance on flying between capital cities and to regional centres.
• October 7, 2022 – Climate change: the fairest way to tax carbon is to make air travel more expensive – Milena Buchs, University of Leeds and Giulio Mattioli, Technical University of Dortmund. Carbon taxes targeting luxury emissions are more popular than those which make necessities more expensive.
• September 19, 2022 – Electric planes are coming: Short-hop regional flights could be running on batteries in a few years – Gökçin Çınar, University of Michigan. Air Canada and United Airlines both have orders for hybrid electric 30-seaters. An aerospace engineer explains where electrification, hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuels are headed.
• September 2, 2022 – Why the aviation industry must look beyond carbon to get serious about climate change – Kieran Tait, University of Bristol. Aviation has long been shamed for its carbon footprint. But cutting non-CO2 emissions may hold the key to rapid change.
• August 4, 2022 – More than ever, it’s time to upgrade the Sydney–Melbourne railway, Philip Laird, University of Wollongong. Improving the rail link between Australia’s two biggest cities will have many benefits, not least in meeting our carbon-reduction goals
• May 18, 2022 – Bucking the trend: Is there a future for ultra long-haul flights in a net zero carbon world?, Susanne Becken, Griffith University and Paresh Pant, Griffith University. Ultra long-haul flights make it possible to go Sydney to London non-stop. But does the world need them, given they are more polluting and less efficient?
• February 22, 2022 – Why universities are starting to re-evaluate their academics’ travel – Sal Lampkin, PhD, Massey University and Robert McLachlan, Massey University. The tertiary sector’s air miles may be dominated by a small number of hyper-mobile senior academics, but studies show virtual conferences can improve diversity, career development and emissions.
• December 20, 2021 – Blue-sky thinking: net-zero aviation is more than a flight of fantasy – Emma Rachel Whittlesea, Griffith University and Tim Ryley, Griffith University. Commercial flights could one day be propelled by sustainable fuels, renewable energy or hydrogen propulsion – but big challenges remain.
• November 30, 2021 – Sweden’s flight-free movement: how views about holiday air travel are changing – Sara Ullström, Lund University and Kimberly Nicholas, Lund University. Swedish views on holidays are shifting towards reducing air travel, media analysis shows.
• November 10, 2021 – Seven reasons global transport is so hard to decarbonise – Christian Brand, University of Oxford. Some pollution is locked in for years to come, and there are no simple solutions.
• November 6, 2021 – Reducing air travel by small amounts each year could level off the climate impact – Milan Klöwer, University of Oxford. Reducing jet fuel consumption by 2.5% each year could halt aviation’s growing influence on climate change.
• August 5, 2021 – As pandemic restrictions ease, we need to consider ethical travel in our return
  Matt Harker, Western University – As global travel resumes, now is the perfect time to establish new conversations for what ethical travel might look like.
• August 5, 2021 – Airport towns like Luton and Hounslow are suffering as people fly less often – here’s how to help them – Ed Atkins, University of Bristol and Martin Parker, University of Bristol. Green jobs are the way to avoid a decade of decline for towns dependent on airport employment.
• June 18, 2021 – Contrails from aeroplanes warm the planet – here’s how new low-soot fuels can help – David Simon Lee, Manchester Metropolitan University – Soot from aeroplane exhausts can linger in the atmosphere, seeding ice clouds which trap heat.
• June 16, 2021 – How world leaders’ high-carbon travel choices could delay climate action – Steve Westlake, Cardiff University – Research shows people don’t take politicians seriously on climate change if they don’t seem fully committed.
• May 27, 2021 – In a landmark judgment, the Federal Court found the environment minister has a duty of care to young people – Laura Schuijers, The University of Melbourne
  The court described climate change as ‘the greatest inter-generational injustice ever inflicted by one generation of humans upon the next’. (Importance – does the Transport Minister also have a duty of care to consider aviation emissions induced by airport expansion in Airport Masterplan and MDP approvals?)
• April 29, 2021 – Short-haul flight ban is a good start – now we need to reimagine the modern airport – Enrica Papa, University of Westminster and Luis Delgado, University of Westminster
  Banning short-haul flights should be just the first step on the path to greener transport systems.
• April 15, 2021 – The airline industry hasn’t collapsed, but that’s the only good news for overseas travel – Volodymyr Bilotkach, Singapore Institute of Technology
  We thought things would be so much better for international air travel by now, though things could be worse for the airlines themselves.
• March 13, 2021 – Carbon offsets offer a fantasy of capitalism without crises – Robert Watt, University of Manchester – I spoke to dozens of people in the industry, to find out what they do – and don’t – believe.
• March 10, 2021 – Morrison government to subsidise holidaymakers in $1.2 billion tourism and aviation package – Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
  Nearly 800,000 half-price air tickets for travel to and from holiday areas will be provided under a $1.2 billion program to support aviation and tourism
• February 19, 2021 – Tourism desperately wants a return to the ‘old normal’ but that would be a disaster – Susanne Becken, Griffith University – Given its environmental damage, tourism must seriously reconsider its purpose in a post-pandemic world.
• February 18, 2021 – NZ tourism can use the disruption of COVID-19 to drive sustainable change — and be more competitive – James Higham
  A new report pushes for a modern tourism model, including the introduction of airport departure taxes, to enhance New Zealand’s competitive advantage in a climate-conscious world.
• November 11, 2020 – How a 1940s treaty set airlines on a path to high emissions and low regulation – Roger Tyers, University of Nottingham – A precedent set at the industry’s outset has dominated efforts to reform aviation.
• October 20, 2020 – Fewer flights and a pesticide-free pitch? Here’s how Australia’s football codes can cut their carbon bootprint – Brett Hutchins, Monash University; Libby Lester, University of Tasmania, and Michael Ambrose, CSIRO – Professional sport has enormous power to influence positive change. So ahead of this weekend’s grand finals, let’s examine the carbon emissions of our major men’s football leagues.
• August 4, 2020 – How COVID-19 could impact travel for years to come – John Gradek, McGill University – Will the joy and exhilaration of travel return after the COVID-19 pandemic? Yes, but with a new value proposition built around safe and secure travel.
• July 27, 2020 – Flight shaming: how to spread the campaign that made Swedes give up flying for good – Avit K Bhowmik, Stockholm University – The Swedish ‘flight shame’ campaign was a runaway success. We asked those it affected how it influenced their travel behaviour.
• July 17, 2020 – Don’t abandon plans for high-speed rail in Australia – just look at all the benefits
  Marcus Luigi Spiller, The University of Melbourne – A high-speed rail network in Australia would create many benefits by reshaping cities and regional communities along its route.
• July 2, 2020 – The sun is setting on unsustainable long-haul, short-stay tourism — regional travel bubbles are the future – James Higham – The travel crisis caused by COVID-19 is also an opportunity to end the worst excesses of international tourism for good.
• May 27, 2020 – Green bailouts: relying on carbon offsetting will let polluting airlines off the hook – Ben Christopher Howard, University of Birmingham – Carbon offsetting is better regulated than it once was, but it’s no solution to the climate crisis.
• May 25, 2020 – High-speed rail on Australia’s east coast would increase emissions for up to 36 years – Greg Moran, Grattan Institute – Bullet trains are back on the agenda. But a new analysis shows that rather than helping cut emissions, such a project would drive them up for at least 24 years. (worth reading comments for crtiques on Scope 3 emissions and earlier article (May 11)  by Grattan Institute on Green Steel)
• May 15, 2020 – Why airline bailouts are so unpopular with economists – Brian O’Callaghan, University of Oxford and Cameron Hepburn, University of Oxford
  Any bailout should include conditions that the airline reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
• May 11, 2020 – Australians want industry, and they’d like it green. Steel is the place to start – Tony Wood, Grattan Institute; Guy Dundas, Grattan Institute, and James Ha, Grattan Institute
  Australia could grab a huge chunk of the world’s steel industry, and do it on the east coast, if it gets the technologies right. (relevant for construction of High Speed rail scope 3 emissions)
• April 22, 2020 – What future do airlines have? Three experts discuss – Darren Ellis, Cranfield University; Jorge Guira, University of Reading, and Roger Tyers, University of Southampton
  The airline industry has faced many crises before. But these pale in comparison to the economic hit that airlines are currently facing.
• March 18, 2020 – The end of global travel as we know it: an opportunity for sustainable tourism – Freya Higgins-Desbiolles, University of South Australia
  The COVID-19 crisis is an epic disaster for the global travel industry. But we shouldn’t try to return to business as usual.
• March 10, 2020 – Heathrow’s third runway: how dogged persistence stopped London airport expansion – Steven Griggs, De Montfort University and David Howarth, University of Essex
  Persistence pays off – but unless campaigners put forward an alternative, the airports will always be able to fight back.
• March 2, 2020 – Transport is letting Australia down in the race to cut emissions – Philip Laird, University of Wollongong
  The continued upward trend in our second-biggest source of emissions is a result of government inaction on a transport mix dominated by trucks and cars and a lack of fuel-efficiency standards. (Mostly about vehicle transport emissions, but includes comparative data for long haul aviation and domestic aviation)
• February 17, 2020 – Major airlines say they’re acting on climate change. Our research reveals how little they’ve achieved – Susanne Becken, Griffith University
  We analysed what the world’s top 58 airlines – such as American Airlines, British Airways and Qantas – are doing about climate change. Even the best airlines are not doing anywhere near enough.
• February 15, 2020 – Plane, train, or automobile? The climate impact of transport is surprisingly complicated – Laurie Wright, Solent University
  All modes of high-speed travel come with a cost to the environment.
• February 14, 2020 – Climate change means longer take-offs and fewer passengers per aeroplane – new study – Guy Gratton, Cranfield University and Paul D Williams, University of Reading
  Weaker winds and higher temperatures are making airlines less efficient.
• February 5, 2020 – People hate flight shame – but not enough to quit flying – Roger Tyers, University of Southampton
  Carbon offsetting and new airplanes won’t keep up with emissions from an ever-expanding aviation industry.
• January 23, 2020 – Could sleeper trains replace international air travel? – Enrica Papa, University of Westminster
  Since 2019, night train networks have seen a remarkable revival across Europe.
• January 15, 2020 – Flight shame won’t fix airline emissions. We need a smarter solution – Duygu Yengin, University of Adelaide and Tracey Dodd, University of Adelaide
  “Fake news”, the chief executive of Lufthansa has called it. But his counterpart at Air France calls it the airline industry’s “biggest challenge”. So does the president of Emirates: “It’s got to be dealt…
• October 22, 2019 – These celebrities cause 10,000 times more carbon emissions from flying than the average person
  Stefan Gössling, Lund University. The vast emissions caused by these individuals suggest that a very small share of humanity has a very significant role in global warming.
• December 13, 2019 – Transport emissions have doubled in 40 years – expand railways to get them on track – Stephen Joseph, University of Hertfordshire
  Electric trains use seven times less carbon dioxide than cars. With careful planning, railways could drastically cut emissions from a sector that now accounts for a quarter of the carbon in our air.
• November 27, 2019 – Climate explained: how much does flying contribute to climate change? – Shaun Hendy
  Globally, emissions from air travel account for only about 3% of the warming human activities are causing, but aviation affects our climate in a number of ways.
• November 23, 2019 – We can’t expand airports after declaring a climate emergency – let’s shift to low-carbon transport instead – Jefim Vogel, University of Leeds; Joel Millward-Hopkins, University of Leeds, and Yannick Oswald, University of Leeds
  Turning from the conflict of airport expansions to a vision of a low-carbon transport system.
• November 6, 2019 – Electric planes are here – but they won’t solve flying’s CO₂ problem – Duncan Walker, Loughborough University
  Small regional flights will soon start going electric but batteries are unlikely to ever fully power large airliners.
• October 31, 2019 – Flight shame: flying less plays a small but positive part in tackling climate change – Jan Ditzen, Heriot-Watt University and Erkal Ersoy, Heriot-Watt University
  As the notion of flight shame is taking off around the world, emissions from aviation are making a small but growing contribution to global warming.
• September 20, 2019 – Climate explained: why don’t we have electric aircraft? Dries Verstraete, University of Sydney
• September 4, 2019 – Universities need to rein in academic air travel and greenhouse gases, Julie Talbot, Université de Montréal and Julien Arsenault, Université de Montréal
• August 23, 2019 – Travel the world without destroying it – Imagine newsletter #5, Jack Marley, The Conversation
• July 29, 2019 – We can’t expand airports after declaring a climate emergency – let’s shift to low-carbon transport instead – Jefim Vogel, PhD Researcher in Ecological Economics, University of Leeds; Joel Millward-Hopkins, Postdoctoral Researcher in Sustainability, University of Leeds; Yannick Oswald, PhD Researcher in Ecological Economics, University of Leeds.
• July 22, 2019 – Climate change and air travel: why we have a responsibility to countries dependent on tourism
  Tom Baum, University of Strathclyde
  Reducing air travel may have a positive effect on climate change but it will inevitably damage developing countries that rely on tourism for their chances of prosperity.
• July 9, 2019 – University sector must tackle air travel emissions
  Milena Buchs, University of Leeds
  Universities play a significant role in the high and rising air travel footprint – and they need to do more about it.
• May 28, 2019 – Rising seas threaten Australia’s major airports – and it may be happening faster than we think, Thomas Mortlock, Macquarie University; Andrew Gissing, Macquarie University; Ian Goodwin, Macquarie University, and Mingzhu Wang
• April 24, 2019 – Get set for take-off in electric aircraft, the next transport disruption. Jake Whitehead, The University of Queensland and Michael Kane, Curtin University
• April 12, 2019 – Climate change: yes, your individual action does make a difference – Steve Westlake, PhD Researcher in Environmental Leadership, Cardiff University
• February 14, 2019 – Researchers, set an example: fly less – Xavier Anglaret, Université de Bordeaux; Chris Wymant, University of Oxford, and Kévin Jean, Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (CNAM)
• January 8, 2019 – Businesses think they’re on top of carbon risk, but tourism destinations have barely a clue – Susanne Becken, Griffith University
• November 27, 2018 – Why aren’t there electric airplanes yet? – Venkat Viswanathan, Carnegie Mellon University; Shashank Sripad, Carnegie Mellon University, and William Leif Fredericks, Carnegie Mellon University
• July 4, 2018 – Why our carbon emission policies don’t work on air travel – Francis Markham, Australian National University; Arianne C. Reis, Western Sydney University; James Higham, and Martin Young, Southern Cross University
• December 15, 2017 – Flying home for Christmas? Carbon offsets are important, but they won’t fix plane pollution – Susanne Becken, Griffith University and Brendan Mackey, Griffith University
• August 3, 2017 – How hot weather – and climate change – affect airline flights – Ethan Coffel, Columbia University and Radley Horton, Columbia University
• February 27, 2017 – Flight to greener aviation fuel has hit turbulence – here’s why – Simon Blakey, University of Sheffield
• January 12, 2017 – Life in a post-flying Australia, and why it might actually be ok – Martin Young, Southern Cross University; Francis Markham, Australian National University; James Higham, and John Jenkins, Southern Cross University
• January 11, 2017 – It’s time to wake up to the devastating impact flying has on the environment – Roger Tyers, University of Southampton
• December 14, 2016 – Perth to London non-stop: great for travellers, but little help for emissions – Rebecca Johnston, University of Western Australia
• October 11, 2016 – The new UN deal on aviation emissions leaves much to be desired – David Hodgkinson, University of Western Australia and Rebecca Johnston, University of Western Australia
• September 26, 2016 – Are we finally about to get a global agreement on aviation emissions? – David Hodgkinson, University of Western Australia and Rebecca Johnston, University of Western Australia
• April 5, 2016 – Airline emissions and the case for a carbon tax on flight tickets – David Hodgkinson, University of Western Australia and Rebecca Johnston, University of Western Australia
• March 11, 2016 – Aviation emissions are rising – and industry solutions are just technological myths – Paul Peeters, NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences; James Higham; Scott Cohen, University of Surrey, and Stefan Gössling, Western Norway Research Institute
• February 11, 2016 – The planned aviation emissions rules will just delay the heavy lifting until later – David Hodgkinson, University of Western Australia and Rebecca Johnston, University of Western Australia
• December 4, 2015 – Discussing the ‘success’ of limiting aviation emissions is just hot air – David Hodgkinson, University of Western Australia
• November 12, 2015 – Aviation has an emissions problem, and COP 21 won’t solve it – David Hodgkinson, University of Western Australia
• January 14, 2015 – It’s time for a global tax on aviation emissions – Rebecca Johnston, University of Notre Dame Australia and David Hodgkinson, University of Western Australia
• October 24, 2014 – Can you be a sustainable tourist without giving up flying?
  Morgan Saletta, University of Melbourne
  Australians love to travel. About 9 million Australians travelled overseas last year, 60% of them on holiday. For most tourists, sustainable development and climate change were probably not high on their…
• August 15, 2014 – Political taboos leave politicians unwilling to take steps to cut transport emissions – Scott Cohen, University of Surrey