Aviation and the Global Atmosphere

Aviation and the Global Atmosphere
Aviation and the Global Atmosphere
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10.4. Mitigation Measures
Other reports in this collection
Aviation is a technologically intensive industry, both as a user and as a driver of advanced technology. Until quite recently, business units within the air service industry
were often characterized as a series of local monopolies connected by a set of protected routes, which contributed to economic and environmental inefficiencies.
Continued aviation liberalization has not brought decreased regulation in the areas of safety, security, and the environment however, and continued cooperation
among national authorities is necessary to ensure that such regulations are globally and competitively neutral.
10.4.1. Underlying Trends Relevant to Mitigation
The general trend in aircraft engine technology development over the past few decades has been to reduce specific fuel consumption (SFC). This trend has resulted in
lower emissions of carbon dioxide CO 2 ) and water vapor (H 2 O) and most other exhaust gases per unit of thrust. Advances in combustor technology have resulted in
considerable reduction of NO x emissions at a given pressure ratio. Future developments in engine technology are discussed in Chapter 7.
Developments in communication, navigation, and surveillance technology, as well as air traffic management systems (see Chapter 8), have enabled more efficient use
of the air traffic system. This trend has resulted in considerable fuel savings. The complete transformation-that is, modernization of the air traffic system-is expected to
generate significant safety, operational, and environmental benefits. Air traffic measures for present and future systems offer potential for reduced fuel consumption,
hence emissions, through improvement in the overall capacity and efficiency of the air traffic system. Potential environmental benefits to be gained from operational
measures within the current air traffic system, though important, are thought to be smaller than those that may be gained through modernization of the air traffic
system. The environmental effect will depend on the rate at which these measures are adopted.
Chapter 9 examines the implications of alternative growth and technology scenarios on aviation emissions. Mid-term projections of aviation growth have meaningful
margins of error, and those beyond 20 years are highly uncertain. Accordingly, rather than use projections, we develop a range of future industry growth and
technology scenarios to the year 2050. Comparison of scenarios gives order-of-magnitude estimates of emissions changes resulting from variation in the rate of
aviation growth and different technology options. Although these scenarios produce a wide range of outcomes, they all show an increase in aircraft emissions as
growth outpaces engine technology improvements.
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