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#CARBON EMISSIONS BY INDUSTRY SERIES#

However, air travel volumes increased even more rapidly. Global emissions from aviation have increased a lot over the past half-century. Contrails – water vapor trails from aircraft exhausts – account for the largest share. Two-thirds (66%) comes from non-CO 2 forcings. When we combine them, aviation accounts for approximately 3.5% of effective radiative forcing: that is, 3.5% of warming.Īlthough CO 2 gets most of the attention, it accounts for less than half of this warming. In their chart we see their estimates for the radiative forcing of the different elements. If more energy is absorbed than radiated, the atmosphere becomes warmer. Radiative forcing measures the difference between incoming energy and the energy radiated back to space. 7 To do this they calculated the so-called ‘Radiative Forcing’.

(2020) quantified the overall effect of aviation on global warming when all of these impacts were included. Overall, the warming effect is stronger.ĭavid Lee et al. While some of these impacts result in warming, others induce a cooling effect. They result in a short-term increase, but long-term decrease in ozone (O 3) a decrease in methane (CH 4) emissions of water vapour soot sulfur aerosols and water contrails. This is because air travel does not only emit CO 2: it affects the climate in a number of more complex ways.Īs well as emitting CO 2 from burning fuel, planes affect the concentration of other gases and pollutants in the atmosphere. 6Īviation accounts for around 2.5% of global CO 2 emissions, but it’s overall contribution to climate change is higher. But, they’ve been growing at a similar rate as total CO 2 emissions – this means its share of global emissions has been relatively stable: in the range of 2% to 2.5%. 4, 5Īviation emissions have doubled since the mid-1980s. This represented 2.5% of total CO 2 emissions in 2018. In 2018, it’s estimated that global aviation – which includes both passenger and freight – emitted 1.04 billion tonnes of CO 2.

#CARBON EMISSIONS BY INDUSTRY SERIES#

The time series of global emissions from aviation since 1940 is shown in the accompanying chart. 2 This was calculated based on fuel consumption data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), and earlier estimates from Robert Sausen and Ulrich Schumann (2000). In a recent paper, researchers – David Lee and colleagues – reconstructed annual CO 2 emissions from global aviation dating back to 1940. Most flights are powered by jet gasoline – although some partially run on biofuels – which is converted to CO 2 when burned. But the one that gets the most attention is its contribution via CO 2 emissions. The latter two numbers refer to 2018, and the first to 2016, the latest year for which such data are available.Īs we will see later in this article, there are a number of processes by which aviation contributes to climate change.

3.5% of ‘effective radiative forcing’ – a closer measure of its impact on warming.

1.9% of greenhouse gas emissions (which includes all greenhouse gases, not only CO 2).

Global aviation (including domestic and international passenger and freight) accounts for: How much of a role does aviation play in global emissions and climate change? In this article we take a look at the key numbers that are useful to know. This means they could be easily overlooked – especially since international aviation is not counted within any country’s emissions inventories or targets. It’s also important to note that unlike the most common greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane or nitrous oxide – non-CO 2 forcings from aviation are not included in the Paris Agreement. The fact that they don’t count towards the emissions of any country means there are few incentives for countries to reduce them. International flights are not – instead they are counted as their own category: ‘bunker fuels’. CO 2 emissions from domestic flights are counted in a country’s emission accounts. The second is how aviation emissions are attributed to countries. This is because there are large inequalities in how much people fly – many do not, or cannot afford to, fly at all. Yet aviation overall accounts for only 2.5% of global carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions. Air travel dominates a frequent traveller’s individual contribution to climate change. The first is the disconnect between its role in our personal and collective carbon emissions. Flying is a highly controversial topic in climate debates.