Green Transition a New Normal: How Aviation Industry is Adopting Sustainability

New Delhi [India], December 13: Air travel has long caught the eye of skeptics and promoters of climate change. With vast emissions and visible scars across the skies, a green revolution was clearly needed to transform the quality of the air enveloping us. The global aviation industry undeniably makes a significant contribution to carbon emissions, accounting for about 2.5% to 3% of the world’s total carbonisation. It becomes more significant in the wake of the Paris Summit goals of containing global temperature rise to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius by the turn of the century to the pre-industrial level.

Taking firm steps in this direction, in 2016, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) adopted the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) to address CO2 emissions from the international aviation sector.

Many initiatives have spung up all along the aerospace sector. In adopting simple measures like paperless ticketing, digital baggage tracking, and personalized sustainable travel options, airlines are contributing their bit to the environment. These steps are leading to minimizing wastage and carbon emissions associated with traditional paper-based processes. Modifications in the building structures using glass over concrete is also a very significant move.

The two growing behemoths of the airline industry, India and China have comfortably moved to sustainable solutions and green environments. In a segment published in the “Outlook Planet”, over the last decade,73 out of the 134 airports in India have moved to completely green energy sourcing. Indian airlines like Indigo and Air India have invested notable budgets for modernizing their fleets to carbon friendly aircraft. Besides the Big Two in India, smaller players like Spicejet have taken the initiative by trying a combination of bio fuels.

China has taken equally impressive strides in the green revolution. From breaking ground on a 3 Billion USD hydrogen to aviation fuel plant in Shuangyashan, to developing sustainable aviation fuel pilot programs the change is evident in the strategic thinking of the Chinese government.

North America and Europe are invested in sustainable solutions promoting alternate fuel technologies and aircraft in a significant fashion. The new generation of aircraft from the stables of Boeing and Airbus provide technologies and powerplant combinations that reduce emissions by 20-30 % compared to older aircraft. For instance, the A350 and Boeing 737 Max 3 liters per 100 passenger kilometers. This fuel burn is comparable to commercial cars while flying further and faster.

The aircraft manufacturers are doing their bit too. Recently Boeing announced an essential investment amounting to $400 million USD in Wagner Sustainable Aviation Fuel with an aim to drastically reduce carbon emissions to make air travel greener. Airbus Industries is spearheading the decarbonization footprint by signing power purchase agreements (PPA) with solar and wind producers.

Procedurally the aircraft operators use various techniques like choosing optimal altitudes and direct routes to help in reduced fuel burn. Add to this advanced automation to set engine power, we have a fine blend of modern technology and old-fashioned techniques to reduce the emission levels.

Increasing air travel and use of the thin band of atmosphere that sustains life is has driven mankind to conjure up solutions to mitigate the fallout of carbon emissions. The green revolution is happily underway in form of initiatives, legislation and individual goals. Summarized, the drive of the aviation industry looks something like this.

• Fund and develop alternate fuels to power existing engines.
• Research and manufacture of electric power plants.
• Drive deep into operating procedures to save on route length and aircraft configuration.
• Back-end support by going paperless and reducing the on-ground carbon footprint.
•  Substituting existing technology with more efficient and cleaner one.

So when you buy a ticket to travel and it appears on your hand held device it should be comforting to note that it is just a small representative of the collective efforts of an industry to green the planet.