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the UN's big plan to make flying green launched this month but airlines likely won't pay anything for pollution for another 6 years. by 2035, they will spend less than 1% of yearly operating costs buying credits to offset CO2from me and @daten_drang https://www.dw.com/en/corsia-climate-flying-emissions-offsets/a-56309438
the UN agency responsible for international flights does not want to reduce the number of flights — its plan is to keep growing the aviation sector without growing its "net" emissions
that sounds like a paradox because flying emits lots of pollutants. the reason it's only 2.5% of global CO2 emissions is because most flying is done by the very richest.
less than 4% of the world flew in 2018. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378020307779
less than 4% of the world flew in 2018. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378020307779
their solution, along with better fuels and greater efficiency, is to offset the rise in emissions by making airlines out money into climate-friendly projects.
here's what the CEO of one of the world's biggest airlines says about offsets:
here's what the CEO of one of the world's biggest airlines says about offsets:
there are studies and studies showing that offsets overpromise their carbon savings. lots of projects that "offset CO2" would have happened anyway. in Cambodia, forests protected by carbon offsets have been destroyed.
but relying on offsets can even be harmful. airlines who invest heavily in green fuels could be undercut by competitors using cheap offsets. to justify building extra runways, airports are using Corsia to argue that more flights are compatible with global climate agreements
and all this before getting to the policy details: the ICAO moved the baseline year from which emissions should be kept stable to exclude the drop in air traffic from the coronavirus pandemic in 2020
not doing so, they said, would "create an inappropriate economic burden to airplane operators"
the problem is that offsets are so cheap that even 15 years from now they are unlikely to hit *half a percent* of airlines' 2019 operating costs
the problem is that offsets are so cheap that even 15 years from now they are unlikely to hit *half a percent* of airlines' 2019 operating costs
so how could we better address the emissions from flights?
-individuals: fly less
-airlines: invest in research to electrify planes and replace jet fuel with hydrogen
-governments: stop subsidies, tax the emissions and levy frequent fliers
-individuals: fly less
-airlines: invest in research to electrify planes and replace jet fuel with hydrogen
-governments: stop subsidies, tax the emissions and levy frequent fliers
