5 ms·

Aviation currently represents ~2% of total emissions according to our world in data. So yeah, not that much. On the long tun though, we have to reach net zero.

Aviation currently represents ~2% of total emissions according to our world in data. So yeah, not that much. On the long tun though, we have to reach net zero. And if possible even go into negative carbon emissions. 2% isn't much but there are probably activities much more critical than flying which we could use our carbon offset capabilities. My biggest concern with aviation today are people flying private. It is symbolic but I don't think we will be able to ask people to sacrifice some of their comfort if the wealthiest people are not in the same boat.

11235813213455 4y ago
"~2% of total emissions" .. "not that much" Do you have an idea of how many giga tonnes of CO2/year we're talking about here?
- it_citizen 4y ago
  What would you do with a number of giga tons in a vacuum? I can't picture what a giga is, nor a ton of CO2. You probably cannot either. What matters is how much it represents in relation with our total emissions (2%) or with other activities we also have to tackle to decide where to put our efforts first. (Or all at once whenever possible) Therefore, I maintain what I say. 2% of the pie doesn't represent that much if we want to achieve net zero. But at some point we will have to tackle it.
- cagenut 4y ago
  https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/09/Emissions-by-sector-%E2%80%93-pie-charts.png https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/09/Emissions-by-sect... the short answer is "1"
  - 11235813213455 4y ago
    Ok, my own lifestyle is a half tonne per year, so all flights in a year emit 2 billion times more than me, so virtually 25% increase of the world population with my lifestyle as reference
- jeffbee 4y ago
  I agree with the other comment but I also believe in answering the question asked: global aviation peaked at just over 1 gigaton in 2019, before COVID-19 nuked the industry. It's trivial to figure out the carbon emissions because every kilo of aviation fuel sold emits a definite amount of CO2.
  - mercutio2 4y ago
    True on the simple chemistry of combustion, but it’s also true that upper atmosphere combustion products may have a different climate forcing than sea level combustion. There’s an argument I haven’t evaluated myself that even if the fuel was carbon neutral, high altitude combustion might have a residual forcing. I think transoceanic travel is critical to human flourishing, so I definitely hope we can minimize that residual.
charlieyu1 4y ago
Do we really need to reach zero or negative? There are lots of natural absorbers of CO2, it will be fine as long as we don't overload them

11235813213455 4y ago

"~2% of total emissions" .. "not that much" Do you have an idea of how many giga tonnes of CO2/year we're talking about here?

it_citizen 4y ago
What would you do with a number of giga tons in a vacuum? I can't picture what a giga is, nor a ton of CO2. You probably cannot either. What matters is how much it represents in relation with our total emissions (2%) or with other activities we also have to tackle to decide where to put our efforts first. (Or all at once whenever possible) Therefore, I maintain what I say. 2% of the pie doesn't represent that much if we want to achieve net zero. But at some point we will have to tackle it.
cagenut 4y ago
https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/09/Emissions-by-sector-%E2%80%93-pie-charts.png https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/09/Emissions-by-sect... the short answer is "1"
- 11235813213455 4y ago
  Ok, my own lifestyle is a half tonne per year, so all flights in a year emit 2 billion times more than me, so virtually 25% increase of the world population with my lifestyle as reference
jeffbee 4y ago
I agree with the other comment but I also believe in answering the question asked: global aviation peaked at just over 1 gigaton in 2019, before COVID-19 nuked the industry. It's trivial to figure out the carbon emissions because every kilo of aviation fuel sold emits a definite amount of CO2.
- mercutio2 4y ago
  True on the simple chemistry of combustion, but it’s also true that upper atmosphere combustion products may have a different climate forcing than sea level combustion. There’s an argument I haven’t evaluated myself that even if the fuel was carbon neutral, high altitude combustion might have a residual forcing. I think transoceanic travel is critical to human flourishing, so I definitely hope we can minimize that residual.

charlieyu1 4y ago

Do we really need to reach zero or negative? There are lots of natural absorbers of CO2, it will be fine as long as we don't overload them