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It doesn't say zero consumer travel, it specifically talks about trains being the preferred mode of travel and becoming faster. It does say that all airports w

It doesn't say zero consumer travel, it specifically talks about trains being the preferred mode of travel and becoming faster. It does say that all airports would close by 2050. However, that doesn't address military flights or flights used for other than transportation purposes (ex. aerial imagery, etc.) So it would seem that small airstrips would likely remain open for those purposes. They don't seem to suggest a solution for intercontinental travel at all. Presumably, everyone would have to land in the European mainland and take a train over. But it would seem strange to rely totally on the EU for that.

zimpenfish 4y ago
> It does say that all airports would close by 2050. But that's only because they can't see getting net-zero planes etc. in sufficient time that everyone can switch over before 2050. "Although there are lots of new ideas about electric planes, they won’t be operating at commercial scales within 30 years, so zero emissions means that for some period, we’ll all stop using aeroplanes."
- Apes 4y ago
  Other than the fossil fuels already being used, there doesn't seem to be anything energy dense enough for commercial air travel coming any time soon. Maybe some kind of in-air carbon capture on the engines?
  - bobthepanda 4y ago
    It would generally be better to do the syngas generation on the ground in major hubs, since it’s probably like most industrial processes where scale improves economics. If only there were hubs that planes congregated at on the ground.
  - californical 4y ago
    Carbon capture doesn’t create energy, it uses a lot of energy to generate fuel. This makes it excellent where you have lots of renewable energy that may be irregular (like wind), since hydrocarbons are an incredibly dense energy storage mechanism. You can then create fuel from that renewable energy and use it to power everything (like planes). Not the best to create on a plane tho I actually think carbon capture is a great solution to global warming and general oil depletion, since hydrocarbons are such a great energy source for everything except their pollution characteristics. If we can build out carbon capture / hydrocarbon production facilities that use renewable energy, and we can do it cheaper than current oil extraction, I think we’re set to just use hydrocarbons forever! We really just need a breakthrough that makes the whole process more economical, which (fingers crossed) is actually possible within our lifetimes
  - rob74 4y ago
    That would be literally engines operating on thin air, so no, I don't see that happening...

zimpenfish 4y ago

> It does say that all airports would close by 2050. But that's only because they can't see getting net-zero planes etc. in sufficient time that everyone can switch over before 2050. "Although there are lots of new ideas about electric planes, they won’t be operating at commercial scales within 30 years, so zero emissions means that for some period, we’ll all stop using aeroplanes."

Apes 4y ago
Other than the fossil fuels already being used, there doesn't seem to be anything energy dense enough for commercial air travel coming any time soon. Maybe some kind of in-air carbon capture on the engines?
- bobthepanda 4y ago
  It would generally be better to do the syngas generation on the ground in major hubs, since it’s probably like most industrial processes where scale improves economics. If only there were hubs that planes congregated at on the ground.
- californical 4y ago
  Carbon capture doesn’t create energy, it uses a lot of energy to generate fuel. This makes it excellent where you have lots of renewable energy that may be irregular (like wind), since hydrocarbons are an incredibly dense energy storage mechanism. You can then create fuel from that renewable energy and use it to power everything (like planes). Not the best to create on a plane tho I actually think carbon capture is a great solution to global warming and general oil depletion, since hydrocarbons are such a great energy source for everything except their pollution characteristics. If we can build out carbon capture / hydrocarbon production facilities that use renewable energy, and we can do it cheaper than current oil extraction, I think we’re set to just use hydrocarbons forever! We really just need a breakthrough that makes the whole process more economical, which (fingers crossed) is actually possible within our lifetimes
- rob74 4y ago
  That would be literally engines operating on thin air, so no, I don't see that happening...