Currently, the environmental impact of carbon dioxide emissions is a hot topic. Different ways to reduce the impact or amount of these emissions are being discussed and implemented every day. In regards to aviation, "the global aviation industry produces around 2% of all human-induced carbon dioxide emissions" As far as transportation, aircraft are responsible for "12% of all CO2 emissions from transportation sources compared to 74% from road transportation." (ATAG, 2016)
An accord was just approved by the UN in October which essentially sets carbon emission "limits" for airlines. If they exceed their limit, the airline will be required to purchase "carbon-credits" to offset their extra CO2 footprint. "The system will be voluntary from 2021 to 2026 and mandatory from 2027 for states with larger aviation industries. Airlines will have to buy carbon credits from designated environmental projects around the world to offset growth in emissions". (Lampert, 2016) This will either motivate the airlines to ensure that their CO2 emissions stay low, or cost them more money as they disregard the limits and purchase carbon credits. Unlike the Paris accord, this only applies to international flights, not domestic operations, which may account for the fact that it managed to be passed.
President-Elect Trump has been quite vocal in his opposition to the Paris agreement, he believes that it is poor business and won't work. This isn't surprising for someone who is a harsh critic of the notion of climate change. There are quite a few large corporations that are urging Donald Trump to not pull the US out of the agreement. This may result in either the new administration relaxing their stance, or sticking to their guns and US corporations deciding to continue to abide by the agreement on their own. Only time will tell.
I think that steps need to be taken to reduce the impact of CO2 emissions on the planet. Do I think that the aviation community is where these steps need to be taken? Eventually, yes I think that we need to address aviation emissions at some point. I think that we need to start with ground and sea transportation first. These modes of transport cause much more pollution than aviation. I think that aviation is just an easier target because it is already highly regulated and high profile. Before we start getting upset about airplanes, lets take care of the car that I passed today belching black smoke and burning oil.
References:
Facts & FIGURES - Air Transport Action Group (ATAG). (2016, May). Retrieved November 18, 2016, from http://www.atag.org/facts-and-figures.html
Lampert, A. (2016, October 06). U.N. sets limits on global airline emissions amid dissent. Retrieved November 18, 2016, from http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-aviation-idUSKCN1261QR
I completely agree with your stance on aviation emissions. There should definitely be regulations regarding emissions put in place at some point. I don't believe that it should be done now as the industry is still growing and will continue to grow in an already highly regulated sector. In most cases, regulations do not permit growth. When it comes down to it, aircraft engines just need to continue to get more efficient.
ReplyDeleteI would agree that CO2 emissions can be regulated, but why not try and solve the problem now. I feel it will be harder to get these regulations in all at once, especially if it's later down the road. In order to do this, the regulations should be introduced gradually to help reduce emissions while not breaking the industry with impossible requirements.
ReplyDeleteIf enough businesses are vocal about Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement, I believe that his administration will have no choice but to stay. Trump's plan to invest in fossil fuels will backfire on him and will make things worse for America, since we know that climate change will cause conflicts for limited resources
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more that less efficient modes of transportation should be regulated before air transportation. As I said in my blog post the airlines are already trying to be as efficient as possible without regulations to try and save money on fuel costs which is their biggest expense. Efficiency is what the public needs to hear about on the news and understand not that a Boeing 747 pollutes as much CO2 on take-off as a semi truck pollutes on its way from Michigan to Tennessee.
ReplyDeleteI agree that in time the aviation industry will need emissions regulations, but as for now they are kind of leading the way. They currently produce less co2 per gallon then cars do. I think this will continue as long as there is a profit margin to chase.
ReplyDeleteAgreed that if we, as a species, are serious about attacking this global climate change issue, then we need to start with the biggest polluters first. The global aviation industry isn't even in the top 10 of that list. General road traffic alone belches WAY more CO2 into the atmosphere than any other industry or human practice out there. We should target mass ground transit first. One hybrid/bio-diesel bus carrying 50 people will put out way less greenhouse gasses than 45 cars with the same 50 people in them will. It will also massively reduce traffic issues. The only problem is the last mile of travel, as obviously a bus cannot stop at every business and every persons home. Unfortunately, humans are fat and lazy, and we would rather set the world on fire than be bothered to walk a mile from the bus stop to our jobs. Until we can figure this problem out, I think the aviation industry should be left alone. Even without laws being put in place, the aviation industry has cut emissions in half and boosted fuel economy by up to 70% since the mid 70's. I'd like to see other industries post these kind of numbers without governmental aid/persuasion before we start attacking aviation again.
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