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AviationAviation's environmental effect are mainly
Air transport currently produces about 2% of the world's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates this proportion to rise to 3% by the year 2050. Emissions into the atmosphere Aircraft emission include the same pollutants as emissions from other engines. These are carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxides (NOx), unburned hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), water vapour (H2O), Sulphuric oxides (SOx) and particles (PM). Carbon dioxide has the same warming effect on the atmosphere at all emission altitudes. Nitrous oxides (NOx) have both an accelerating and decelerating on the the greenhouse effect. NOx emissions produce ozone that heats the atmosphere. At the same time they reduce the amount of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Other pollutants react in complicated ways in the atmosphere, both increasing and decreasing the warming effect. All reactions and effects are not known in detail. Aviation emissions are being constrained by developing technology and operations as well as through economic steering. Emission limits together with rising fuel costs promote development and use of more fuel efficient aircraft. Fuel economy has developed significantly in the last decades. In the future advances in fuel economy are expected to be slower but there are many development programs in place. Aviation's energy consumption and emissions may also be reduced through improved use of airspace. Energy efficiency may be improved by optimizing flight speeds and altitudes and by rising load factors. More efficient use of airspace and airports reduces unnecessary taxi, holding and engine idle. As the latest economic steering solution, air traffic is to join the European-wide emissions trading. Emissions trading would be a market-driven alternative. However, several unanswered questions remain. While air transport is an extremely international business, emissions trading may cause distortions in competition if the solutions are not world-wide. Aircraft noise The area of effect for aircraft noise around airports is generally quite small. Noise measures regulated by EU directives show aircraft noise to be a minor contributor to noise evident in the society today, while other forms of traffic are major contributors. Investments in modern aircraft have reduced noise and improved planning of airspace use has further reduced the effects of aircraft noise. Infrastructure Compared to other forms of traffic and transport, aviation requires little infrastructure. From 2004 to 2006 the Finnish aviation administration Finavia participated in a study estimating the use of natural resources by traffic. Included was the infrastructure required by the traffic. Building infrastructure for road and rail traffic uses significant amounts of natural resources, while air traffic is quite efficient in this perspective. More information http://www.enviro.aero/ by Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) |
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