On 28-29 November Cranfield University hosted the Aviation and the Environment conference - bringing together thought-leaders from industry and academia to discuss the challenges, possible solutions, and opportunities we face when tackling the issue of the aviation industry and its effect on climate change.
We were lucky enough to attend the opening day of the conference, where the resounding theme seemed to centre on the need for synergy: to work collaboratively across different industries and academic disciplines, to use different technologies and alternatives in complement with each other, working together to solve a global issue.
We heard a number of different perspectives and ideas on how aviation can work to reduce its impact on the environment from the speakers – here are the key takeaways from the day:
Carbon offsetting is not a silver bullet solution
Dustin Benton, Policy Director at Green Alliance, stated that while offsetting the carbon we emit seems like an easy solution at a headline level, it is not a silver bullet. To achieve net-zero, aviation would require one-third of the entire global carbon removal potential. In reality, with expanding emissions levels, we would need to grow a forest “the size of Australia, or India” to offset the carbon we are emitting through aviation and have a greenhouse gas transport and storage offering that is drastically larger than the current infrastructure. Given that carbon sequestration is also needed by other sectors, such as agriculture, it’s not feasible for aviation to use up all of the natural sequestration that the UK can offer. Therefore, our emissions outweigh the credible removal strategies.
Supporting this view, Professor Neil Harris, Professor of Atmospheric Informatics at Cranfield, stated that we cannot rely on offsetting schemes alone. With many sectors wanting to use offsetting, it must be deployed wisely and should not be viewed as a panacea. He also highlighted that the carbon removed from the atmosphere by sequestration is stored in our soil – how effective that sequestration is in the long term is determined by how well we look after our soil. Dr Jacqueline Hannam of Cranfield University has previously stated that keeping carbon in the soil is a vital part of mitigating climate change – and the degradation of soil means this carbon is being released back into the atmosphere. Simply deploying offsetting schemes is not enough to address the level of carbon emissions – cross-industry collaboration, research into better energy sources and investment in new technology is needed alongside it.
Demand will continue to grow
There has been a huge growth in demand for air travel over the last two decades, as highlighted by Professor Keith Mason, Professor of Air Transport Management at Cranfield. Aviation provides a service that people will continue to buy and want – and Dustin Benton stated that we need to recognise that we therefore can’t simply “magic it away”. Jonathon Counsell, Group Head of Sustainability at the International Airlines Group, suggested that “flying is not the problem, it’s carbon that is the problem.” Simply put, it’s not feasible to expect people to stop flying – and as Ron van Manen, Head of Strategic Development at Cleansky, touched upon – we want the economic benefits that the growth in industry brings.
However, reducing levels of unnecessary travel and finding ways to decarbonise the short flights that have been shown to be a major contributor to the total carbon emission levels of aviation, may be a way to reduce the impact of growing demand – when implemented alongside other solutions such as better fuels, processes, and technology. Domestic markets – short flights within the same country – represent over 40% of the total aviation market, according to Professor Keith Mason. Therefore considering options to decarbonise these short flights, such as Project Fresson which seeks to install a hybrid-electric propulsion system into a Britten Normander Islander aircraft, could be one way to tackle the impact of growing demand on emissions. Professor Mason also highlighted the fact that business travel accounts for 40% of all travel – with 20% of those journeys being avoidable - and cited the WWF ‘1 in 5’ challenge, which challenges companies to cut 20% of their business flights within five years – reducing costs and CO2 emissions from business travel by using alternatives such as video conferencing, or more sustainable options such as rail where travel is necessary.
Carbon emissions aren’t the only issue
The most prevalent conversations when it comes to aviation and the environment tend to focus on carbon emissions. However, we were reminded that the issue doesn’t begin and end with carbon by Professor Neil Harris. We should also be considering other sources of greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide emissions, along with the formation of contrails which absorb solar radiation and can contribute to the heating effect potentially at a similar level to that created by carbon emissions. Professor Harris suggested that addressing contrails could buy us more time when it comes to reducing the rate of heating caused by aviation – achieved by switching to synthetic fuels (which contain less contrail-forming particles) or changing the altitude of flights and utilising alternative routes to enable planes to fly at optimal temperatures to avoid contrails forming.
The fact that the impact of aviation on the environment is not just about emissions and climate change was highlighted by Cranfield alumnus Robert Herlaar, who is now an airport consultant at Adecs Airinfra. In addition to emissions we need to be considering factors such as noise pollution and the impact it can have on those living near airports. Robert shared a case study conducted for Rotterdam airport which looked at ways to reduce airport noise pollution and posed the question of whether route adjustment is the answer – should we share the noise so more people are affected less severely, or concentrate it so fewer people are affected albeit more severely?
We need to look beyond fuel and consider all sources of inefficiency that lead to increased emissions
Improving processes on the ground – from the manufacture of aircraft to the operational processes before a flight takes off – along with more efficient flight paths could help to reduce the overall impact of air travel.
Our attention was drawn to the impact of fragmented airspace, sub-optimal routes and operational inefficiency by Christian Verdonk, who is a teaching and research fellow at the Air Traffic Management Lab at Cranfield. Christian stated that 15% of flight inefficiencies are due to inefficient routes – created by political boundaries in the sky and fragmented airspace. On average, an extra 8km is added to every flight entering Spain. He also suggested that fuel burn could be reduced by 10% by increasing operational efficiency – considering things such as taxying procedures and increased air traffic management capabilities by embracing more automation to allow a change in how we fly.
Practical solutions to address inefficiencies in the processes and lifecycle of air travel were offered by Dr Cristina Garcia Duffy, Head of Technology at the Aerospace Technology Institute. Cristina suggested we focus on:
- Improving the energy efficiency of the aircraft itself (not just the fuel it burns) by taking steps to reduce weight, improve drag composition and develop more efficient propulsion systems.
- Address sustainability in the manufacturing and maintenance processes – for example by reducing the amount of materials that are wasted and the use of consumables such as water during manufacturing, to make the factories themselves more energy efficient. She also suggested that more sustainable through-life engineering services should be considered, such as better inspection methodologies and less reliance on oils and lubricants.
- Optimising ground operations – using technology to reduce emissions during taxying, for instance by using electric taxying, and optimising the route the aircraft takes on the ground from the gate to the runway.
- Changing how we fly – for example, she suggested that formation flying could see a 4% improvement in emissions. This would mean more complex requirements in terms of air traffic management, but it could be feasible – particularly if artificial intelligence/automation was implemented, as Christian Verdonk suggested.
Innovations in technology seem to be a key player when it comes to reducing the overall impact of aviation. Hugh Clayton, Group Director of Engineering and Strategy at Meggitt PLC, suggested that in order to close the gap between the forecasted growth in flights and the carbon savings that can be achieved with available technology we need to work on both commercialising sustainable fuels and improving aircraft efficiency. Professor Neil Harris also stated that improvements in air traffic management and other local factors could see a reduction in emissions – however, he emphasised the need to invest wisely and make optimal use of capital when it comes to new technology.
The future is green – investors and new talent want companies that are acting on climate change.
The aviation industry is now being viewed as the CO2 production industry according to Dave Smith, Director of Central Technology at Rolls-Royce – and with the projected decarbonisation of other transport industries, aviation could soon become the biggest emitter of carbon. Perception of the industry and its efforts to tackle climate change are key – according to Smith, investors are putting their money where their mouths are and may even threaten to pull investment from companies that aren’t acting on climate change. If the aviation industry loses access to capital, it loses the ability to innovate.
Hugh Clayton also touched upon the importance of the perception of the aviation sector when it comes to tackling climate change – highlighting that many investors are requiring companies to take tangible actions to reach the requirements of the Paris Climate Agreement. The issue of talent acquisition and retention was also raised by Clayton – the new generation coming through are increasingly aware of climate issues and they want to join an industry that will thrive long-term, without harming the environment. To attract and retain the best talent, aviation needs to take steps to reduce the role it is playing in climate change.
We need to consider both the benefits and the limitations of alternative fuels to develop the best strategy
The importance of considering the entire lifecycle when it comes to alternative fuels was a resounding theme throughout the day at the conference, with many of the speakers stressing that we can’t simply reduce emissions in one area if it leads to increased emissions in another area – for example, the storage and transportation challenges posed by hydrogen (due to the need for a much larger volume compared to kerosene), or the extraction of lithium for batteries. Dustin Benton raised the point that when it comes to the feedstock for sustainable fuel sources, we can’t expect to use the land to offset our emissions and create fuel, because there’s simply not enough of it. We need to develop an infrastructure that can take carbon out of the atmosphere and turn it into something that can be used. If the refinement process for alternative fuels still uses a large amount of energy – the emissions are still ultimately ending up in the atmosphere. Biofuels have a role but don’t present a solution on their own according to Paul Perera, Vice President of Technology at GKN Aerospace, who stated that the wider impact of biofuels on the environment needs to be taken into consideration. In terms of feedstock for sustainable fuels municipal waste, which is readily available and would otherwise be destined for landfill, was put forward by Jonathon Counsell as a good option – however he highlighted that the challenge is the cost and attracting the capital to fund the infrastructure, something that British Airways are currently working on.
Meanwhile, the challenges of using hydrogen instead of kerosene were outlined by Dave Smith – while hydrogen contains more energy per kilogram than kerosene, it also takes up a much larger volume. To use hydrogen effectively would require us to ensure that it is produced greenly and that we have the infrastructure to store and transport it. Furthermore, hydrogen is far more costly – meaning ticket prices for customers could rise, posing the question of whether this is a compromise that consumers would be willing to make. Going completely electric is the best option in terms of eliminating tail pipe emissions, according to Dr Cristina Garcia Duffy – but we need to develop battery technology and consider the lifecycle of production to truly understand the improvement potential. Ultimately, as Paul Perera suggested, it seems to be a case of applying “multiple technologies on top of each other” in order to truly achieve progress.
Addressing aviation’s impact on the environment is a challenge, but we can also see it as an opportunity
Hugh Clayton acknowledged the risk that climate change and the pressure to be more green poses to the aviation market – for example, the phasing out of older, less fuel-efficient aircraft, the social pressure for consumers to travel less, and the increased cost of carbon taxes.
However, reducing the impact it has on the environment can also be an opportunity for the aviation industry. The urgency in tackling climate change means there will be accelerated demand for new fuel-efficient aircraft and the associated technology – presenting the industry with the opportunity to do something radically different in aircraft design. Clayton stated that the industry should be investing two-thirds of total spend on developing new sustainable technology and lower carbon methods of generating power. This sense of opportunity was echoed by Dave Smith, who described climate change as creating “lots of options and lots of questions” – generating the opportunity for companies, countries and academia to work together to address them.
We need to work together – cross-industry collaboration is key
The focus on the need to consider the full lifecycle when it comes to producing aviation fuel, manufacturing aircraft and identifying sources of inefficiency underlined the need for cross-industry collaboration. Dr Cristina Garcia Duffy called for a multidisciplinary approach, stating that technology alone will not be sufficient to reach our reduction targets. Collaboration between the aviation industry and other sectors, such as the energy sector, is crucial if we are to be successful. Equally, Ron van Manen stated that focusing only on creating more sustainable fuels won’t work without other changes and technology because with the current growth patterns, we wouldn’t be able to produce the amount of green fuel required. Like Duffy, van Manen stated that to achieve the net-zero by 2050 target, every sector and industry has to contribute: focusing solely on technology or solely on fuel is not enough.
We need to act now
We don’t have time to waste. To achieve the goal of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, Professor Neil Harris said that we would need to be operating in a best case scenario in which our emissions would peak by 2030 and we would be in negative emissions by 2050, with more capacity to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. We are still not making the cuts we need – and therefore we are not working with this “best case scenario” that would allow us to achieve the targets. We need to catch up on the years where not enough action has been taken. Professor Harris recommended that a 30-year plan needs to be developed and it needs to be implemented now – with industry, academia and the government working together to achieve change.
With aviation being named as one of the top five most difficult sectors to de-carbonise in January 2019,1 the challenges and the opportunities that exist when it comes to addressing aviation and the environment are clear. Cranfield is leading the way when it comes to developing an interconnected approach to the issue – for instance through our global research airport and Urban Observatory.
Read more about the research into aviation and the environment currently taking place at Cranfield.
The Alumni Library Online gives you access to journals, databases and articles to help you keep up to date with the latest development in your industry. Read the round-up of relevant resources on Aviation and the Environment.
Download the presentations from the Aviation and the Environment conference here.
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1 In a report by the industry-led Energy Transitions Commission.