Aviation body unveils roadmap to cutting air travel CO2 emissions

In its first ‘CO2 Roadmap’, published today, Sustainable Aviation projects how CO2 emissions from air traffic will fall back to 2000 levels by 2050 without cutting back on the growth in the number of flights.

The report’s publication comes just a few days after the UK Government announced it was to delay a decision on the expansion of Heathrow until the New Year and campaign group Plane Stupid staged a protest over the expansion of Standsted, causing major disruption to the airport.

Sustainable Aviation, which represents the main players from the UK airlines, airports, manufacturers and air traffic controllers, said it had made its projections against a backdrop of passenger numbers growing by a factor of three between now and 2050.

“This report demonstrates how aviation in the UK can be sustainable environmentally as well as economically,” said Ian Godden, chief executive of the Society of British Aerospace Companies. “By 2050 demand for air travel will have grown considerably but, through a combination of measures, it is projected that CO2 emissions will have returned to the same levels as in 2000.”

The report does not factor in any CO2 emission reductions airlines might have to make under international emissions cap and trade schemes on airlines, because it said the exact impact of emissions trading is not yet known. However, Sustainable Aviation said it expected emissions trading to make an “additional contribution” to reducing emissions.  

The roadmap predicts C02 emissions from UK aviation will peak in 2020, but will begin to fall back after that through a combination new aircraft technology, better air traffic management and the development of sustainable fuels.  

The report projects the greatest gains in emission reductions will come from technological improvements; up to 62 per cent reductions in CO2 emissions could be gained from advancements in airframe and engine design and other technologies, such as blended wing bodies and open rotor engines, it claimed.

The roadmap envisages a further 10 per cent reduction from improved air traffic management and operations that will be delivered by 2020.

Meanwhile, lower carbon fuels from sustainable second and third generation feedstocks such as jatropha, algae or biomass waste, could provide a further 10 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030, when it is judged biofuels will have reached full market penetration.

It is estimated that UK aviation makes up six per cent of the countries man-made CO2 emissions.  

Commenting on the report, Danny Bernstein, chairman of Sustainable Aviation and of Monarch Airlines, said: “Flying contributes so much to the UK economy and quality of life through business, family and tourist travel. The industry has now demonstrated how it can deliver these benefits to the nation whilst also meeting the demand for low-carbon solutions with which to do so.”