CANCEL FLIGHTS, NOT THE ENVIRONMENT

How Airlines Are Planning To Reduce Their Lofty Carbon Footprint

Humans first took flight in 1903. Now, 120 years and millions of flights later, air travel accounts for 4 percent of global warming and 2.5 percent of CO2 emissions. With climate change being such a prominent and looming threat, it only makes sense that any and every effort to reduce it would be made.

Recently, airlines have been striving to achieve carbon neutrality, the act of releasing net-zero carbon emissions. This goal has already been tackled through the creation of electric cars, who have managed to achieve netzero carbon emissions. Although carbon neutrality was successful in this instance, it was achieved on a very small scale. Eliminating the carbon emissions of something as large as a plane requires more innovation and money than used in the electric car or other carbon-friendly transportation.

Despite the large task, airlines such as Delta, JetBlue, United and Southwest are attempting to integrate new carbon neutral solutions as of September 2022. Hydrogen fuel made with renewable power, electric planes, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and carbon offsets are some examples of the ways airlines are currently trying to minimize carbon emissions.

However, these options, while appealing, are not always accessible. SAF, a fuel made from plants or used cooking oil, is too expensive for the average airline to implement. When utilized though, SAF could cut up to 80 percent of carbon emissions produced by the burning and harvesting of petroleum-based jet fuel that cause rare but environmentally dangerous oil spills. Therefore, the adoption of fuel from an organic and environmentally friendly source is a beneficial alternative to the crude oil used by many airlines seeking to diminish carbon emissions.

In the future, the sky may be filled with electric aircraft or planes running on renewable fuel, but it will take time, money and innovation to get there. Story by Charlotte Miksha.