This paper discusses the extent to which the predicted growth of aviation in a carbon-constrained world is possible given the known operational and technological options, and in particular the extent to which aviation biofuels form part of the answer. Even without a carbon constraint, aviation faces significant challenges. If capping global greenhouse gas emissions remains a serious goal, then aviation‘s problems intensify. With these challenges in mind, some fundamental questions are raised, for instance:
Standard economic analysis would argue in favour of treating aviation no differently from any other sector, in which case these questions have relatively straightforward answers. That has, however, not been the history of policy interventions in the aviation sector. While this paper does not seek to provide answers to these questions, they are unlikely to be far from the surface in the on-going debate about how to treat greenhouse gas emissions from aviation going forward.
This report looks at potential options for curbing emissions from international aviation. It considers the environmental, economic and political consequences of potential market based mechanisms, and offers an overall assessment of climate policy in this sector.
A global climate agreement is crucial in keeping global warming below the target of maximum 2 degree increase in this century.
This report, from the New Climate Economy, provides 10 practical recommendations to boost economic growth and reduce climate risk. These recommendations could deliver up to 96% of the emissions reductions required by 2030 to keep our planet on a pathway to keep global warming under 2 degrees ce
The world needs a decarbonised energy sector by the second half of the century. In many energy applications, the necessary technologies are available today, so the important next step is the development of enabling policy frameworks in place to scale up their deployment.