forked from enterstudio/wp-static
-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 0
/
Copy pathco2-emissions-from-aviation.html
149 lines (21 loc) · 32.8 KB
/
co2-emissions-from-aviation.html
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
<!doctype html><html><head><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"/><title>Climate change and flying: what share of global CO2 emissions come from aviation? - Our World in Data</title><meta name="description" content="Flying is a highly controversial topic in climate debates. It accounts for around 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions, but 3.5% when we take non-CO₂ impacts on climate into account."/><link rel="canonical" href="https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-from-aviation"/><link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" href="/atom.xml"/><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="/apple-touch-icon.png"/><meta property="fb:app_id" content="1149943818390250"/><meta property="og:url" content="https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-from-aviation"/><meta property="og:title" content="Climate change and flying: what share of global CO2 emissions come from aviation?"/><meta property="og:description" content="Flying is a highly controversial topic in climate debates. It accounts for around 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions, but 3.5% when we take non-CO₂ impacts on climate into account."/><meta property="og:image" content="https://ourworldindata.org/app/uploads/2020/10/Global-CO2-emissions-from-aviation-768x610.png"/><meta property="og:site_name" content="Our World in Data"/><meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"/><meta name="twitter:site" content="@OurWorldInData"/><meta name="twitter:creator" content="@OurWorldInData"/><meta name="twitter:title" content="Climate change and flying: what share of global CO2 emissions come from aviation?"/><meta name="twitter:description" content="Flying is a highly controversial topic in climate debates. It accounts for around 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions, but 3.5% when we take non-CO₂ impacts on climate into account."/><meta name="twitter:image" content="https://ourworldindata.org/app/uploads/2020/10/Global-CO2-emissions-from-aviation-768x610.png"/><link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Lato:300,400,400i,700,700i|Playfair+Display:400,700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet"/><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://ourworldindata.org/assets/commons.css"/><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://ourworldindata.org/assets/owid.css"/></head><body class=""><header class="site-header"><div class="wrapper site-navigation-bar"><div class="site-logo"><a href="/">Our World<br/> in Data</a></div><nav class="site-navigation"><div class="topics-button-wrapper"><a href="/#entries" class="topics-button"><div class="label">Articles <br/><strong>by topic</strong></div><div class="icon"><svg width="12" height="6"><path d="M0,0 L12,0 L6,6 Z" fill="currentColor"></path></svg></div></a></div><div><div class="site-primary-navigation"><form class="HeaderSearch" action="/search" method="GET"><input type="search" name="q" placeholder="Search..."/><div class="icon"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="magnifying-glass" class="svg-inline--fa fa-magnifying-glass " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M500.3 443.7l-119.7-119.7c27.22-40.41 40.65-90.9 33.46-144.7C401.8 87.79 326.8 13.32 235.2 1.723C99.01-15.51-15.51 99.01 1.724 235.2c11.6 91.64 86.08 166.7 177.6 178.9c53.8 7.189 104.3-6.236 144.7-33.46l119.7 119.7c15.62 15.62 40.95 15.62 56.57 0C515.9 484.7 515.9 459.3 500.3 443.7zM79.1 208c0-70.58 57.42-128 128-128s128 57.42 128 128c0 70.58-57.42 128-128 128S79.1 278.6 79.1 208z"></path></svg></div></form><ul class="site-primary-links"><li><a href="/blog" data-track-note="header-navigation">Latest</a></li><li><a href="/about" data-track-note="header-navigation">About</a></li><li><a href="/donate" data-track-note="header-navigation">Donate</a></li></ul></div><div class="site-secondary-navigation"><ul class="site-secondary-links"><li><a href="/charts" data-track-note="header-navigation">All charts</a></li><li><a href="https://sdg-tracker.org" data-track-note="header-navigation">Sustainable Development Goals Tracker</a></li></ul></div></div></nav><div class="header-logos-wrapper"><a href="https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/global-development" class="oxford-logo"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/oms-logo.svg" alt="Oxford Martin School logo"/></a><a href="https://global-change-data-lab.org/" class="gcdl-logo"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/gcdl-logo.svg" alt="Global Change Data Lab logo"/></a></div><div class="mobile-site-navigation"><button data-track-note="mobile-search-button"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="magnifying-glass" class="svg-inline--fa fa-magnifying-glass " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M500.3 443.7l-119.7-119.7c27.22-40.41 40.65-90.9 33.46-144.7C401.8 87.79 326.8 13.32 235.2 1.723C99.01-15.51-15.51 99.01 1.724 235.2c11.6 91.64 86.08 166.7 177.6 178.9c53.8 7.189 104.3-6.236 144.7-33.46l119.7 119.7c15.62 15.62 40.95 15.62 56.57 0C515.9 484.7 515.9 459.3 500.3 443.7zM79.1 208c0-70.58 57.42-128 128-128s128 57.42 128 128c0 70.58-57.42 128-128 128S79.1 278.6 79.1 208z"></path></svg></button><button data-track-note="mobile-newsletter-button"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="envelope-open-text" class="svg-inline--fa fa-envelope-open-text " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M256 417.1c-16.38 0-32.88-4.1-46.88-15.12L0 250.9v213.1C0 490.5 21.5 512 48 512h416c26.5 0 48-21.5 48-47.1V250.9l-209.1 151.1C288.9 412 272.4 417.1 256 417.1zM493.6 163C484.8 156 476.4 149.5 464 140.1v-44.12c0-26.5-21.5-48-48-48l-77.5 .0016c-3.125-2.25-5.875-4.25-9.125-6.5C312.6 29.13 279.3-.3732 256 .0018C232.8-.3732 199.4 29.13 182.6 41.5c-3.25 2.25-6 4.25-9.125 6.5L96 48c-26.5 0-48 21.5-48 48v44.12C35.63 149.5 27.25 156 18.38 163C6.75 172 0 186 0 200.8v10.62l96 69.37V96h320v184.7l96-69.37V200.8C512 186 505.3 172 493.6 163zM176 255.1h160c8.836 0 16-7.164 16-15.1c0-8.838-7.164-16-16-16h-160c-8.836 0-16 7.162-16 16C160 248.8 167.2 255.1 176 255.1zM176 191.1h160c8.836 0 16-7.164 16-16c0-8.838-7.164-15.1-16-15.1h-160c-8.836 0-16 7.162-16 15.1C160 184.8 167.2 191.1 176 191.1z"></path></svg></button><button data-track-note="mobile-hamburger-button"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="bars" class="svg-inline--fa fa-bars " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M0 96C0 78.33 14.33 64 32 64H416C433.7 64 448 78.33 448 96C448 113.7 433.7 128 416 128H32C14.33 128 0 113.7 0 96zM0 256C0 238.3 14.33 224 32 224H416C433.7 224 448 238.3 448 256C448 273.7 433.7 288 416 288H32C14.33 288 0 273.7 0 256zM416 448H32C14.33 448 0 433.7 0 416C0 398.3 14.33 384 32 384H416C433.7 384 448 398.3 448 416C448 433.7 433.7 448 416 448z"></path></svg></button></div></div></header><div class="alert-banner"><div class="content"><div class="text"><strong>COVID-19 vaccinations, cases, excess mortality, and much more</strong></div><a href="/coronavirus#explore-the-global-situation" data-track-note="covid-banner-click">Explore our COVID-19 data</a></div></div><main><article class="page no-sidebar thin-banner"><div class="offset-header"><header class="article-header"><div class="article-titles"><h1 class="entry-title">Climate change and flying: what share of global CO2 emissions come from aviation?</h1></div></header></div><div class="content-wrapper"><div class="offset-content"><div class="content-and-footnotes"><div class="article-content"><section><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><div class="article-meta"><div class="excerpt">Flying is a highly controversial topic in climate debates. It accounts for around 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions, but 3.5% when we take non-CO₂ impacts on climate into account.</div><div class="authors-byline"><a href="/team">by Hannah Ritchie</a></div><div class="published-updated"><time>October 22, 2020</time></div></div><p>Flying is a highly controversial topic in climate debates. There are a few reasons for this. </p><p>The first is the disconnect between its role in our personal and collective carbon emissions. Air travel dominates a frequent traveller’s individual contribution to climate change. Yet aviation overall accounts for only 2.5% of global carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) emissions. This is because there are large inequalities in how much people fly – many do not, or cannot afford to, fly at all [best estimates put this figure at around 80% of the world population – we will look at this in more detail in an upcoming article].</p><p>The second is how aviation emissions are attributed to countries. CO<sub>2</sub> emissions from domestic flights <em>are</em> counted in a country’s emission accounts. International flights are not – instead they are counted as their own category: ‘bunker fuels’. The fact that they don’t count towards the emissions of any country means there are few incentives for countries to reduce them.</p><p>It’s also important to note that unlike the most common greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane or nitrous oxide – non-CO<sub>2</sub> forcings from aviation <em>are not included</em> in the Paris Agreement. This means they could be easily overlooked – especially since international aviation is not counted within any country’s emissions inventories or targets.</p><p>How much of a role does aviation play in global emissions and climate change? In this article we take a look at the key numbers that are useful to know.</p><p>Global aviation (including domestic and international; passenger and freight) accounts for:</p><ul><li><strong>1.9%</strong> of <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/ghg-emissions-by-sector">greenhouse gas emissions</a> (which includes all greenhouse gases, not only CO<sub>2</sub>)</li><li><strong>2.5%</strong> of CO<sub>2</sub> emissions</li><li><strong>3.5%</strong> of ‘<span><script data-type="ExpandableInlineBlock" data-block="GlossaryExcerpt" data-label="effective radiative forcing" type="component/props">{"slug":"what-is-radiative-forcing","excerpt":"Radiative forcing measures the difference between incoming energy and the energy radiated back to space. If more energy is absorbed than radiated, the atmosphere becomes warmer."}</script><a class="expandable-block-button" href="/glossary#what-is-radiative-forcing">effective radiative forcing</a></span>’ – a closer measure of its impact on warming.</li></ul><p>The latter two numbers refer to 2018, and the first to 2016, the latest year for which such data are available.</p><hr class="wp-block-separator"></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><h4 id="aviation-accounts-for-2-5-of-global-co2-emissions">Aviation accounts for 2.5% of global CO<sub>2</sub> emissions<a class="deep-link" href="#aviation-accounts-for-2-5-of-global-co2-emissions"></a></h4></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><p>As we will see later in this article, there are a number of processes by which aviation contributes to climate change. But the one that gets the most attention is its contribution via CO<sub>2</sub> emissions. Most flights are powered by jet gasoline – although some partially run on biofuels – which is converted to CO<sub>2</sub> when burned. </p><p>In a recent paper, researchers – David Lee and colleagues – reconstructed annual CO<sub>2 </sub>emissions from global aviation dating back to 1940.<a id="ref-1" class="ref" href="#note-1"><sup>1</sup></a> This was calculated based on fuel consumption data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), and earlier estimates from Robert Sausen and Ulrich Schumann (2000).<a id="ref-2" class="ref" href="#note-2"><sup>2</sup></a></p><p>The time series of global emissions from aviation since 1940 is shown in the accompanying chart. In 2018, it’s estimated that global aviation – which includes both passenger and freight – emitted 1.04 billion tonnes of CO<sub>2</sub>.</p><p>This represented 2.5% of <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions#global-co2-emissions">total CO<sub>2</sub> emissions</a> in 2018.<a id="ref-3" class="ref" href="#note-3"><sup>3</sup></a><sup>,</sup><a id="ref-4" class="ref" href="#note-4"><sup>4</sup></a></p><p>Aviation emissions have doubled since the mid-1980s. But, they’ve been growing at a similar rate as total CO<sub>2</sub> emissions – this means its share of global emissions has been relatively stable: in the range of 2% to 2.5%.<a id="ref-5" class="ref" href="#note-5"><sup>5</sup></a></p></div><div class="wp-block-column"><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="693" height="550" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/Global-CO2-emissions-from-aviation-693x550.png" alt="Global co2 emissions from aviation" class="wp-image-36836" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/Global-CO2-emissions-from-aviation-693x550.png 693w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/Global-CO2-emissions-from-aviation-400x318.png 400w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/Global-CO2-emissions-from-aviation-150x119.png 150w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/Global-CO2-emissions-from-aviation-768x610.png 768w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/Global-CO2-emissions-from-aviation.png 1505w" sizes="(max-width: 693px) 100vw, 693px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/Global-CO2-emissions-from-aviation.png"></figure></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><h4 id="non-co2-climate-impacts-mean-aviation-accounts-for-3-5-of-global-warming">Non-CO<sub>2</sub> climate impacts mean aviation accounts for 3.5% of global warming<a class="deep-link" href="#non-co2-climate-impacts-mean-aviation-accounts-for-3-5-of-global-warming"></a></h4></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><p>Aviation accounts for around 2.5% of global CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, but it’s overall contribution to climate change is higher. This is because air travel does not only emit CO<sub>2</sub>: it affects the climate in a number of more complex ways.</p><p>As well as emitting CO<sub>2</sub> from burning fuel, planes affect the concentration of other gases and pollutants in the atmosphere. They result in a short-term increase, but long-term decrease in ozone (O<sub>3</sub>); a decrease in methane (CH<sub>4</sub>); emissions of water vapour; soot; sulfur aerosols; and water contrails. While some of these impacts result in warming, others induce a cooling effect. Overall, the warming effect is stronger.</p><p>David Lee et al. (2020) quantified the overall effect of aviation on global warming when all of these impacts were included.<a id="ref-6" class="ref" href="#note-6"><sup>6</sup></a> To do this they calculated the so-called ‘<span><script data-type="ExpandableInlineBlock" data-block="GlossaryExcerpt" data-label="Radiative Forcing" type="component/props">{"slug":"what-is-radiative-forcing","excerpt":"Radiative forcing measures the difference between incoming energy and the energy radiated back to space. If more energy is absorbed than radiated, the atmosphere becomes warmer."}</script><a class="expandable-block-button" href="/glossary#what-is-radiative-forcing">Radiative Forcing</a></span>’. Radiative forcing measures the difference between incoming energy and the energy radiated back to space. If more energy is absorbed than radiated, the atmosphere becomes warmer. </p><p>In <strong><a href="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1352231020305689-gr3_lrg.jpg">this chart</a></strong> we see their estimates for the radiative forcing of the different elements. When we combine them, aviation accounts for approximately 3.5% of effective radiative forcing: that is, 3.5% of warming.<br><br>Although CO<sub>2 </sub>gets most of the attention, it accounts for less than half of this warming. Two-thirds (66%) comes from non-CO<sub>2 </sub>forcings. Contrails – water vapor trails from aircraft exhausts – account for the largest share.</p></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><h4 id="we-don-t-yet-have-the-technologies-to-decarbonize-air-travel">We don’t yet have the technologies to decarbonize air travel<a class="deep-link" href="#we-don-t-yet-have-the-technologies-to-decarbonize-air-travel"></a></h4></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><p>Aviation’s contribution to climate change – 3.5% of warming, or 2.5% of CO<sub>2</sub> emissions – is often less than people think. It’s currently a relatively small chunk of emissions compared to other sectors. </p><p>The key challenge is that it is particularly hard to decarbonize. We have solutions to reduce emissions for many of the <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/ghg-emissions-by-sector">largest emitters</a> – such as power or road transport – and it’s now a matter of scaling them. We can deploy renewable and nuclear energy technologies, and transition to electric cars. But we don’t have proven solutions to tackle aviation yet. </p><p>There are some design concepts emerging – Airbus, for example, <a href="https://www.airbus.com/innovation/zero-emission/hydrogen/zeroe.html">have announced plans</a> to have the first zero-emission aircraft by 2035, using hydrogen fuel cells. Electric planes may be a viable concept, but are likely to be limited to very small aircraft due to the limitations of battery technologies and capacity. </p><p>Innovative solutions may be on the horizon, but they’re likely to be far in the distance.</p><div class="block-wrapper"><div class="wp-block-owid-prominent-link with-image" data-no-lightbox="true" data-style="is-style-thin" data-title="Towards zero-carbon transport: how can we expect the sector’s CO<sub>2</sub> emissions to change in the future?"><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-from-transport"><figure><img width="768" height="485" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/IEA-Transport-to-2070-768x485.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large" alt="Iea transport to 2070" loading="lazy" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/IEA-Transport-to-2070-768x485.png 768w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/IEA-Transport-to-2070-400x253.png 400w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/IEA-Transport-to-2070-800x505.png 800w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/IEA-Transport-to-2070-150x95.png 150w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/IEA-Transport-to-2070-1536x970.png 1536w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/IEA-Transport-to-2070.png 1732w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/IEA-Transport-to-2070.png"></figure><div class="content-wrapper"><div class="content">
</div><div class="title"><span>Towards zero-carbon transport: how can we expect the sector’s CO<sub>2</sub> emissions to change in the future?</span><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="arrow-right" class="svg-inline--fa fa-arrow-right " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M438.6 278.6l-160 160C272.4 444.9 264.2 448 256 448s-16.38-3.125-22.62-9.375c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25L338.8 288H32C14.33 288 .0016 273.7 .0016 256S14.33 224 32 224h306.8l-105.4-105.4c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25s32.75-12.5 45.25 0l160 160C451.1 245.9 451.1 266.1 438.6 278.6z"></path></svg></div></div></a></div></div></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="block-wrapper" data-reactroot=""><div data-variation="full-width" data-default-open="true" class="wp-block-owid-additional-information open"><h3 data-track-note="additional-information-toggle"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="angle-right" class="svg-inline--fa fa-angle-right " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 256 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M64 448c-8.188 0-16.38-3.125-22.62-9.375c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25L178.8 256L41.38 118.6c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25s32.75-12.5 45.25 0l160 160c12.5 12.5 12.5 32.75 0 45.25l-160 160C80.38 444.9 72.19 448 64 448z"></path></svg>Appendix: Efficiency improvements means air traffic has increased more rapidly than emissions</h3><div style="height:auto;overflow:visible" aria-hidden="false" class="rah-static rah-static--height-auto"><div style="transition:opacity 250ms ease 0ms;-webkit-transition:opacity 250ms ease 0ms"><div class="content">
<div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right">
<div class="wp-block-column">
<p>Global emissions from aviation have increased a lot over the past half-century. However, air travel volumes increased even more rapidly. </p>
<p>Since 1950, aviation emissions increased almost seven-fold; since 1960 they’ve tripled. Air traffic volume – here defined as revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) traveled – increased by orders of magnitude more: almost 300-fold since 1950; and 75-fold since 1960 [you find this data in our interactive chart <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/airline-capacity-and-traffic">here</a>].<a id="ref-7" class="ref" href="#note-7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p>
<p>The much slower growth in emissions means aviation efficiency has seen massive improvements. In the chart we show both the increase in global airline traffic since 1950, and aviation efficiency, measured as the quantity of CO<sub>2</sub> emitted per revenue passenger kilometer traveled. In 2018, approximately 125 grams of CO<sub>2 </sub> were emitted per RPK. In 1960, this was eleven-fold higher; in 1950 it was twenty-fold higher. Aviation has seen massive efficiency improvements over the past 50 years.</p>
<p>These improvements have come from several sources: improvements in the design and technology of aircraft; larger aircraft sizes (allowing for more passengers per flight); and an increase in how ‘full’ passenger flights are. This last metric is termed the ‘passenger load factor’. The passenger load factor measures the actual number of kilometers traveled by paying customers (RPK) as a percentage of the available seat kilometers (ASK) – the kilometers traveled if every plane was full. If every plane was full the passenger load factor would be 100%. If only three-quarters of the seats were filled, it would be 75%.</p>
<p>The global passenger load factor increased from 61% in 1950 to 82% in 2018 [you find this data in our interactive chart <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/airline-passenger-load-factor">here</a>]. </p>
</div>
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="800" height="505" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/Aviation-traffic-and-efficiency-Lee-et-al.-2020-800x505.png" alt="Aviation traffic and efficiency lee et al. 2020" class="wp-image-36837" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/Aviation-traffic-and-efficiency-Lee-et-al.-2020-800x505.png 800w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/Aviation-traffic-and-efficiency-Lee-et-al.-2020-400x253.png 400w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/Aviation-traffic-and-efficiency-Lee-et-al.-2020-150x95.png 150w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/Aviation-traffic-and-efficiency-Lee-et-al.-2020-768x485.png 768w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/Aviation-traffic-and-efficiency-Lee-et-al.-2020-1536x970.png 1536w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/Aviation-traffic-and-efficiency-Lee-et-al.-2020.png 1832w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2020/10/Aviation-traffic-and-efficiency-Lee-et-al.-2020.png"></figure>
</div>
</div>
</div></div></div></div></div></section>
</div><footer class="article-footer"><div class="wp-block-columns"><div class="wp-block-column"><div class="blog-info">
<p>Our World in Data presents the data and research to make progress against the world’s largest problems.<br>This blog post draws on data and research discussed in our entries on <strong><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-other-greenhouse-gas-emissions" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CO<sub>2</sub> and Greenhouse Gas Emissions</a></strong> and <strong><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Energy</a></strong>.</p>
</div><h3 id="endnotes">Endnotes</h3><ol class="endnotes"><li id="note-1"><p>Lee, D. S., Fahey, D. W., Skowron, A., Allen, M. R., Burkhardt, U., Chen, Q., … & Gettelman, A. (2020). <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231020305689">The contribution of global aviation to anthropogenic climate forcing for 2000 to 2018</a>. <em>Atmospheric Environment</em>, 117834.</p></li><li id="note-2"><p>Sausen, R., & Schumann, U. (2000). <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1005579306109">Estimates of the climate response to aircraft CO2 and NOx emissions scenarios</a>. <em>Climatic Change</em>, <em>44</em>(1-2), 27-58.</p></li><li id="note-3"><p>The Global Carbon Budget estimated total CO<sub>2</sub> emissions from all fossil fuels, cement production and land-use change to be 42.1 billion tonnes in 2018. This means aviation accounted for [1 / 42.1 * 100] = 2.5% of total emissions.</p></li><li id="note-4"><p>Global Carbon Project. (2019). Supplemental data of Global Carbon Budget 2019 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. Global Carbon Project. <a href="https://doi.org/10.18160/gcp-2019">https://doi.org/10.18160/gcp-2019</a>.<br><br>If we were to exclude land use change emissions, aviation accounted for 2.8% of fossil fuel emissions. The Global Carbon Budget estimated total CO<sub>2</sub> emissions from fossil fuels and cement production to be 36.6 billion tonnes in 2018. This means aviation accounted for [1 / 36.6 * 100] = 2.8% of total emissions.</p></li><li id="note-5"><p>2.3% to 2.8% of emissions if land use is excluded.</p></li><li id="note-6"><p>Lee, D. S., Fahey, D. W., Skowron, A., Allen, M. R., Burkhardt, U., Chen, Q., … & Gettelman, A. (2020). <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231020305689">The contribution of global aviation to anthropogenic climate forcing for 2000 to 2018</a>. <em>Atmospheric Environment</em>, 117834.</p></li><li id="note-7"><p>Airline traffic data comes from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) via <a href="https://www.airlines.org/dataset/world-airlines-traffic-and-capacity">Airlines for America</a>. Revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) measures the number of paying passengers multiplied by their distance traveled.</p></li></ol><h3 id="licence">Reuse our work freely</h3><p>All visualizations, data, and code produced by Our World in Data are completely open access under the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Creative Commons BY license</a>. You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited.</p><p>The data produced by third parties and made available by Our World in Data is subject to the license terms from the original third-party authors. We will always indicate the original source of the data in our documentation, so you should always check the license of any such third-party data before use and redistribution.</p><p>All of <a href="/how-to-use-our-world-in-data#how-to-embed-interactive-charts-in-your-article">our charts can be embedded</a> in any site.</p></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div></footer></div></div></div></article></main><div id="wpadminbar" style="display:none"><div class="quicklinks" id="wp-toolbar" role="navigation" aria-label="Toolbar"><ul id="wp-admin-bar-root-default" class="ab-top-menu"><li id="wp-admin-bar-site-name" class="menupop"><a class="ab-item" aria-haspopup="true" href="https://owid.cloud/wp/wp-admin">Wordpress</a></li> <li id="wp-admin-bar-edit"><a class="ab-item" href="https://owid.cloud/wp/wp-admin/post.php?post=36835&action=edit">Edit Page</a></li></ul></div></div><section class="donate-footer"><div class="wrapper"><div class="owid-row flex-align-center"><div class="owid-col owid-col--lg-3 owid-padding-bottom--sm-3"><p>Our World in Data is free and accessible for everyone.</p><p>Help us do this work by making a donation.</p></div><div class="owid-col owid-col--lg-1"><a href="/donate" class="owid-button donate-button" data-track-note="donate-footer"><span class="label">Donate now</span><span class="icon"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="angle-right" class="svg-inline--fa fa-angle-right " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 256 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M64 448c-8.188 0-16.38-3.125-22.62-9.375c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25L178.8 256L41.38 118.6c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25s32.75-12.5 45.25 0l160 160c12.5 12.5 12.5 32.75 0 45.25l-160 160C80.38 444.9 72.19 448 64 448z"></path></svg></span></a></div></div></div></section><footer class="site-footer"><div class="wrapper"><div class="owid-row"><div class="owid-col owid-col--lg-1"><ul><li><a href="/about" data-track-note="footer-navigation">About</a></li><li><a href="/about#contact" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Contact</a></li><li><a href="/feedback" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Feedback</a></li><li><a href="/jobs" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Jobs</a></li><li><a href="/funding" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Funding</a></li><li><a href="/about/how-to-use-our-world-in-data" data-track-note="footer-navigation">How to use</a></li><li><a href="/donate" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Donate</a></li><li><a href="/privacy-policy" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Privacy policy</a></li></ul></div><div class="owid-col owid-col--lg-1"><ul><li><a href="/blog" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Latest work</a></li><li><a href="/charts" data-track-note="footer-navigation">All charts</a></li></ul><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/OurWorldInData" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/OurWorldinData" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Facebook</a></li><li><a href="https://instagram.com/ourworldindata_official" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Instagram</a></li><li><a href="https://github.com/owid" data-track-note="footer-navigation">GitHub</a></li><li><a href="/feed" data-track-note="footer-navigation">RSS Feed</a></li></ul></div><div class="owid-col owid-col--lg-1"><div class="logos"><a href="https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/global-development" class="partner-logo" data-track-note="footer-navigation"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/oms-logo.svg" alt="Oxford Martin School logo" loading="lazy"/></a><a href="/owid-at-ycombinator" class="partner-logo" data-track-note="footer-navigation"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/yc-logo.png" alt="Y Combinator logo" loading="lazy"/></a></div></div><div class="owid-col flex-2"><div class="legal"><p>Licenses: All visualizations, data, and articles produced by Our World in Data are open access under the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Creative Commons BY license</a>. You have permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited. All the software and code that we write is open source and made available via GitHub under the permissive <a href="https://github.com/owid/owid-grapher/blob/master/LICENSE.md " target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MIT license</a>. All other material, including data produced by third parties and made available by Our World in Data, is subject to the license terms from the original third-party authors.</p><p>Please consult our full <a href="/about#legal">legal disclaimer</a>.</p><p><a href="https://global-change-data-lab.org/" class="partner-logo gcdl-logo" data-track-note="footer-navigation"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/gcdl-logo.svg" alt="Global Change Data Lab logo" loading="lazy"/></a>Our World In Data is a project of the <a href="https://global-change-data-lab.org/">Global Change Data Lab</a>, a registered charity in England and Wales (Charity Number 1186433).</p></div></div></div></div><div class="site-tools"></div><script src="https://polyfill.io/v3/polyfill.min.js?features=es6,fetch,URL,IntersectionObserver,IntersectionObserverEntry"></script><script src="https://ourworldindata.org/assets/commons.js"></script><script src="https://ourworldindata.org/assets/vendors.js"></script><script src="https://ourworldindata.org/assets/owid.js"></script><script>window.runSiteFooterScripts()</script></footer><script>
runTableOfContents({"headings":[],"pageTitle":"Climate change and flying: what share of global CO2 emissions come from aviation?"})
runRelatedCharts(undefined)
</script></body></html>