Aircraft produce the same types of emissions as cars and trucks. In particular, aircraft jet engines produce carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapor (H2O), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of sulfur (SOx), unburned or partially combusted hydrocarbons (also known as volatile organic compounds, or VOCs), particulates, and other trace compounds. Aircraft engine emissions are roughly composed of about 70 percent CO2, a little less than 30 percent H2O, and less than 1 percent each of NOx, CO, SOx, VOC, particulates, and other trace components.
As with surface vehicles, aircraft produce carbon dioxide through combustion of petroleum-based fuel. Aircraft can have complex effects on climate through contrail formation and by emitting water vapor into the dry stratosphere. Aviation accounts for about 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions from transportation in the U.S., or about 2.7 percent of total national greenhouse gas emissions.
Change is coming as the industry works to come to terms with climate change, but, by all measures, it will be slow. A wide range of technologies and innovations are being designed in a bid to tackle aviation’s environmental footprint. For example,
- NASA is researching ideas that could lead to the development of electric propulsion-powered aircraft, which would be quieter, more efficient and environmentally friendly than today's commuter aircraft.
- The U.S. Air Force's Agility Prime program is working with private industry to explore building innovative aircraft, such as “flying taxis”, also being developed by United Airlines.
- Emitting 90% less carbon dioxide than a standard airplane, blimps are also coming. Bill McKibben found the best description of what they might feel like, in a new world of aviation, in Kim Stanley Robinson’s brilliant sci-fi novel, The Ministry for the Future. "In the novel", he writes "that takeoff felt strange, lofting up over the bay, bouncing a little on the wind, not like a jet, not like a helicopter. Strange but interesting. Dynamic lift; the electric motors, on sidecars up the sides of the bag, could get them to about two hundred kilometers an hour over the land, depending on the winds.”
By Sri Taylor 01/26/23
John F. Kennedy International Airport’s New Terminal One will get the largest rooftop solar array on any US airport — part of a set of sustainability features aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and blunting…
01/18/23
NASA announced Wednesday it has issued an award to The Boeing Company for the agency’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project, which seeks to inform a potential new generation of green single-aisle airliners. Under a Funded Space…
By Joann Muller 01/05/23
Nobody's putting wings on automobiles, but carmakers have emerged as key partners for a bevy of aviation startups working on electric "air taxis."
By Jeremy Bogaisky 12/15/22
Futuristic electric vertical-takeoff air taxis have grabbed all the headlines—and billions in venture dollars—but Singapore-based investor RICHARD CHANDLER thinks he has a better idea: conventional battery-powered aircraft that are cheaper to fly and more reliable…
By Joann Muller 12/07/22
Some odd-looking aircraft are flying circles above strawberry and lettuce fields in rural California, as the next era in aviation draws closer. Why it matters: Powered by electric batteries and designed to take off like…
By Ben Geman and Others 12/07/22
"Sustainable" aviation fuels (SAFs), which are made from household solid waste, algae and other inputs, could dramatically cut emissions from air travel while also creating thousands of jobs, a new report finds, Andrew writes.
By Joann Muller 10/11/22
Delta Air Lines is partnering with Joby Aviation, a leading developer of electric air taxis, to make it easier and faster for customers to get to the airport. Why it matters: The partnership is an…
By Joann Muller 09/26/22
The skies could soon be filled with electric, autonomous air taxis, but they'll need a place to take off, land and recharge — hence the arrival of the "vertiport." Why it matters: These transportation hubs…
09/22/22
An underutilized natural resource could be just what the airline industry needs to curb carbon emissions. Researchers at three institutions—the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),…
By Jacob Knutson 09/08/22
United Airlines announced Thursday it will invest $15 million into electric aircraft company Eve Air Mobility and purchase 200 of its electric air taxis with options to buy 200 more. Why it matters: The airline…
By Michelle Ma 08/24/22
Those innocuous-seeming puffs are responsible for more than 50% of flights’ climate impact and up to 2% of total global warming, and yet very little is known about them beyond academic circles. While airlines have…
By Joann Muller 08/18/22
Next-generation aircraft companies are increasingly turning to the U.S. Defense Department to accelerate their path to commercial flight. Why it matters: It can be difficult to earn regulatory approval — not to mention public acceptance…
02/07/22
Meet Alice, the world’s first all-electric commuter aircraft. Built to make flight the sustainable, affordable, quiet solution to regional travel.
09/10/21
The White House on Thursday said it is targeting 20% lower aviation emissions by 2030, as airlines facing pressure from environmental groups to lower their carbon footprintpledged to use more sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
09/09/21
President Biden is taking steps to coordinate leadership and innovation across the federal government, aircraft manufacturers, airlines, fuel producers, airports, and non-governmental organizations to advance the use of cleaner and more sustainable fuels in American…
08/13/21
Even as electrification has taken off in everything from cars to lawn care, the idea of removing fossil fuels from such an energy-intensive—and weight-sensitive—application as aviation felt like a far-fetched dream. Yet slowly, we have…
08/03/21
alabama start-up SE aeronautics has unveiled the ‘SE200’, an all-new green widebody airplane design with a tri-wing configuration that could potentially revolutionize the world of commercial aviation. the innovative aircraft concept will carry up to 264 passengers, flying more…
07/29/21
We all want to spend less time traveling and more time living. At Joby Aviation, we’re making that possible with our pioneering electric aircraft. It’s a faster, cleaner, and smarter way to carry people through…
07/28/21
Commercial jets delivered by Boeing Co (BA.N) last year will account on average for emissions equivalent to 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each over their 20-year-plus lifespans, a new report from the planemaker shows.
07/22/21
Air travel has an undeniable carbon footprint: some estimates suggest roughly 2.4% of global carbon dioxide emissions come from commercial aviation and passenger aircraft emissions increased 33% between 2013 and 2019.12
07/22/21
Aircraft that produce zero emissions will be flying by the middle of this century and Airbus's Flintshire plant will play a "critical" role, according to a senior manager.
07/13/21
United Airlines (UAL.O) said on Tuesday it would buy 100 19-seat ES-19 electric planes from Swedish start-up Heart Aerospace, as the U.S. carrier eyes battery-powered aircraft for regional routes.
07/13/21
San Diego International Airport may be the home base for an enormous amount of emissions from all the airplanes flying in and out of there, but the airport itself is becoming one of the greenest…
07/08/21
The blimp, forever besmirched due to the Hindenburg explosion in 1937—when one of the first commercial blimps caught on fire—never really fulfilled its potential as a commuting vehicle.
By Maria Gallucci 08/12/22
As aviation companies develop the first hydrogen-powered jets and electric regional aircraft, a more immediate way to curb the industry’s climate pollution is to burn “sustainable aviation fuel.” Made from waste materials such as used…
By Alison Sider 08/10/22
United Airlines Holdings Inc. UAL 1.32%▲ has paid a $10 million deposit for 100 electric flying taxis, a sign that the airline is growing more confident in the nascent technology. United and a regional airline…
By Payal Dhar 08/03/22
As climate change edges from crisis to emergency, the aviation sector looks set to miss its 2050 goal of net-zero emissions. In the five years preceding the pandemic, the top four U.S. airlines—American, Delta, Southwest,…
By The Yard Team 07/29/22
It’s no secret that travelling by aeroplane is the least environmentally friendly method. Emissions per mile travelled are significantly less efficient than any other form of transport; however, the average person flying on a packed…
By Gregory Barber 07/27/22
JET A-1, A straw-colored, kerosene-based fuel used in most big airplanes, is a difficult substance to replace. It’s packed with energy; per unit of weight, at least 60 times as much as the lithium-ion batteries…
By David Sheperdson and Others 07/21/22
Record temperatures at the Farnborough Airshow this week have ratcheted up pressure on global aviation to shrink airplane emissions and turn a raft of potential solutions - many of which are yet to be proven…
By Joann Muller 07/08/22
Better batteries, lighter-weight materials and other innovations — plus huge capital investments — are opening the door to novel and lower-emissions transportation solutions like flying taxis, drones and seagliders.
By Peter Wilson 06/29/22
One day late in 2023 an almost-empty commercial airliner is expected to lift off on a trans-Atlantic flight between Britain and the United States that Prime Minister Boris Johnson casts as a once in a…
By Mark Piesing 06/22/22
Sergey Brin turned internet search into one of the world’s most valuable businesses more than two decades ago. Now he intends to improve a technology which had its heyday long before he was born. Brin…
By Rachel Uranga 06/19/22
Imagine avoiding that soul-crushing, hourlong slog — say from Santa Monica to downtown L.A. on a Tuesday morning. Instead, you hail a high-tech cab that will hop over the gridlock and get you there in…
By Ramin Skibba 06/16/22
Could a similar scenario now play out in the real universe, minus the faster-than-light engines? Atmospheric scientist Christopher Maloney believes so. In a new study, he and his colleagues modeled how black carbon belched out…
By Andrew Freedman 06/15/22
Why it matters: Aviation is a rapidly growing source of greenhouse emissions, including carbon dioxide, and has not been subjected to federal regulations under the Clean Air Act or other statutes.
By Damien Gayle 05/10/22
A report commissioned by the climate charity Possible assessed every target set by the industry since 2000 and found that nearly all had been missed, revised or quietly ignored. The charity says the findings undermine…
04/22/22
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. airports have launched an Airport Climate Challenge to help achieve the Biden-Harris Administration goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. Airports can take advantage of several…
By Brian Sumers 03/31/22
Delta CEO Ed Bastian, who left the company briefly in 2005, loves to tell the story about why he quit. At the time, Delta was pursuing a discount strategy that he didn't like. Not long…
03/28/22
Airbus’ A380 test aircraft MSN 1 took off from Blagnac Airport, Toulouse, France at 08h43 on Friday 25 March. The flight lasted about three hours, operating one Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine on 100% SAF.
By Felicia Jackson 02/02/22
Salesforce’s Net Zero Cloud (formerly Sustainability Cloud 2.0) is supporting the decarbonization of air travel, with news that JetBlue is using it to provide emissions travel data to the airline’s Sustainable Travel Partners. The agreement…
By Arthur Neslen 01/26/22
Analysis from Greenpeace finds deserted flights are generating millions of tons of harmful emissions
By Ilona Wissenbach 01/24/22
An alliance of airlines and airports called for changes to the European Union's planned climate change legislation on Monday, arguing it will make them less competitive with non-European rivals.
By Alexa Gagosz 01/13/22
The Moore Brothers Company, a composite manufacturing, research, and development firm, will join forces with Boston-based Regent Craft to create a new, cutting-edge seaglider, an innovation that will combine “speed, comfort, and navigation systems of…
12/19/21
What new modes of air transportation will exist in 2030? Could eVTOLs replace cars by then? Will passenger aircraft be piloted or autonomous—or somewhere in between? McKinsey’s Kersten Heineke, Benedikt Kloss, and Robin Riedel imagine…
By Maria Gallucci 12/08/21
Andy Rebele has spent much of his life on boats, fishing in lakes near his childhood home in San Diego and, now, cruising the waterways near his house in Seattle. He knows well that, along…
By Howard Mustoe 11/21/21
Carmakers are racing ahead in developing faster, cheaper electric cars. The industry is on track to create one that costs less to run overall than a petrol car within the decade....
By Monique Beals 09/30/21
The fuel would lessen the airline company’s carbon footprint as it seeks to replace 10 percent of its conventional fuel use with sustainable fuel by the end of 2030, according to a press release from…
By Aarian Marshall 09/28/21
Fastening the seat belt buckle and knowing your flight is on its way to its destination: Nice. Getting stuck in a tarmac traffic jam and waiting for your flight to take off: Not so nice.…
By Eric Wesoff 09/27/21
Canary Media just covered the tidal wave of cash going into grid-scale energy storage and the bubble building up around the more speculative subset of long-duration energy storage. This rush toward energy storage is not…
By Mary Mazzoni 09/27/21
Well over a year into the coronavirus pandemic, and anyone who loves to travel is undoubtedly missing the adventure of exploring parts unknown. While it will likely be years before global travel returns to pre-pandemic…
By Nicolás Rivero, Clarisa Diaz & David Yanofsky 09/24/21
A proposed rule change from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has prompted airlines to change their schedules and dramatically increase their carbon emissions by burning millions of gallons of jet fuel. It’s the result…
By Hanna Ziady 09/23/21
More than 50 airlines, oil companies and other companies, including Delta (DAL), BP (BP) and Boeing (BA), pledged on Wednesday to replace 10% of global jet fuel supply with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by 2030.…
By Ian Duncan 09/09/21
The administration says boosting the use of fuels made from waste or plants could cut emissions from flying 20 percent by the end of the decade
09/09/21
As part of a White House roundtable to launch the Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) Grand Challenge to decarbonize the aviation sector by 2050, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $64.7 million in funding for projects focused on producing cost-effective, low-carbon biofuels. These investments will advance technologies to create replacements for petroleum fuels used in heavy-duty forms of…
By Lora Kolodny and Leslie Josephs 08/11/21
Shares of electric aircraft maker Joby Aviation surged more than 20% after opening at $10.62 in their first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange after the company’s SPAC merger. Founded in 2009…
By Jesus Jiménez 08/09/21
More than 300 flights were canceled at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on Monday after severe weather prompted a ground stop and an evacuation of the airport’s control tower.
By Steven Novella 07/23/21
When it comes to cars, the technology competition between batteries and hydrogen has been won. The future of cars appears to be battery technology. There are some hydrogen-fueled cars, but they are a tiny slice…
By Johnna Crider 07/03/21
In a short documentary about airlines, Wendover Productions shares why electric planes are inevitably coming. “It doesn’t currently make sense for airlines to care about climate change,” the narrator of the video said. These are…
By Steven Mufson 06/25/21
United Airlines is investing in a venture that doesn’t make airplanes, transport passengers or ring up frequent-flier miles on the company’s credit cards. And even as it posts losses stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, United is providing…
By Tina Casey 06/24/21
In another sign that the great pivot to net-zero emissions is well under way, the legacy aerospace and defense contractor Rolls-Royce Holdings has just announced a raft of new programs aimed at bringing down the…
By Christopher Jasper and others 06/24/21
The airline industry’s global trade group will propose eliminating carbon emissions on a net basis by 2050, as pressure builds to improve the climate goals of a segment that’s come under increasing criticism for its…
By Justin Worland 06/24/21
For those watching U.S. air travel spike as the COVID-19 pandemic fades, American Airlines’ recent announcement that it would trim its flight schedule may have come as a bit of a surprise. More and more…
By Anmar Frangoul 06/15/21
From the Wright brothers’ historic flight in 1903 to the development of supersonic aircraft, the history of aviation has been driven by technology and ambition. Now, as the 21st century progresses, the sector continues to…
By Leslie Josephs 06/14/21
General Electric’s aviation unit and its joint venture partner Safran of France on Monday said they are developing new airplane engines that aim to cut emissions by more than a fifth of today’s levels. GE…
By Cade Metz and Erin Griffith 06/12/21
It was sleek, cone-shaped, a little confusing — like something Hollywood would give a sci-fi villain for a quick getaway. It wasn’t a helicopter. And it wasn’t an airplane. It was a cross between the…
06/10/21
Right at the start of “The Great Electric Airplane Race,” a thought-provoking NOVA documentary that aired on PBS at the end of May, correspondent Miles O’Brien admits that aircraft are “the high-hanging fruit” in decarbonization.…
By Bill McKibben 06/09/21
An interesting question: Did the pandemic break something in the heedless momentum of human acceleration, or are we really going straight back to normal? An interesting test case: United Airlines’ announcement that it will buy…
By Kate Aronoff 06/04/21
United Airlines announced this week that it will purchase at least 15 supersonic Overture jets, at $200 million a pop, from a startup called Boom, which—having yet to put a single one of its fast…
By Eduardo Garcia 06/02/21
A British company plans to start flying a 100-seat airship by 2025, offering passengers sustainable inter-city transportation and some amazing views. Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) envisions covering routes 200 to 300 miles away, such as…
By Niraj Chokshi and Others 06/02/21
The worst of the pandemic may be over for airlines, but the industry faces another looming crisis: an accounting over its contribution to climate change. The industry is under increasing pressure to do something to…
By Rupert Neate 05/26/21
For those fancying a trip from Liverpool to Belfast or Barcelona to the Balearic Islands but concerned about the carbon footprint of aeroplane travel, a small Bedford-based company is promising a surprising solution: commercial airships.…
05/18/21
Apparently, Amazon and its Climate Pledge Fund ❤ electric aircraft — or more specifically the electric aircraft built by the upstart, Vermont-based aircraft manufacturer, BETA Technologies.
By Will Godley and Charles Riley 05/17/21
For countless executives and salespeople, business trips have been a bedrock of corporate life — loathed by some, loved by others but accepted by all as a necessity (sweetened by millions of frequent flyer miles).…
