What is aviation's contribution to climate change?
The aviation industry claims it’s only responsible for two per cent of CO2 emissions. According to the government though, aviation accounts for 13 per cent of the UK’s total climate impact (this figure takes into account greenhouse gases other than CO2 and the fact that pollutants are dumped straight into the atmosphere, at altitude). Flying causes 10 times more climate change than taking the train. But the main danger aviation poses to the planet is the rate of its growth.
The aviation industry claims it’s only responsible for two per cent of CO2 emissions. According to the government though, aviation accounts for 13 per cent of the UK’s total climate impact (this figure takes into account greenhouse gases other than CO2 and the fact that pollutants are dumped straight into the atmosphere, at altitude). Flying causes 10 times more climate change than taking the train. But the main danger aviation poses to the planet is the rate of its growth. Long-term growth trends show that flying is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. In the 1990s alone, emissions from flights doubled. Meeting our 2050 emissions targets will be made virtually impossible if plans for aviation growth do go ahead (see this research (pdf) from the Tyndall Centre).
