Did you know?
The average flight today will produce around half the CO2 that the same flight would have in 1990, thanks to collaborative effort through new technology and better operations.
Relevance to aviation
All sectors of the aviation industry have agreed on a robust strategy for reducing CO2 emissions and are making excellent progress working towards three global climate goals. In October 2016, the UN International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) successfully agreed on the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), which will enable the industry’s shared goal of carbon-neutral growth. In the long-term, aviation aims to halve its net CO2 emissions by 2050, using 2005 as the baseline. This will be achieved through the development of new technology, commercialisation of sustainable aviation fuels and more efficient navigational infrastructure.
Examples of action
- The entire aviation industry has agreed on a climate action plan for the short, medium and long-term.
- Each new generation of aircraft is on average 15-20% more fuel efficient than the generation it replaces.
- Airports Council International (ACI) runs the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, which certifies airports on carbon reduction efforts.
- Oslo Airport, operated by Avinor, became the first airport to offer sustainable aviation fuel to all airlines.
- In 2016, ICAO agreed a CO2 Standard for new aircraft.
- NATS, the UK air traffic management provider, assesses its efficiency performance by grading each flight it manages with a ‘three dimension inefficiency score’, which leads to better performance and a reduction in emissions.
Learn more in the Flying in Formation report