Leaving on a jet place? Better think twice!

PENCINTA ALAM JULY 2019

GREEN LIVING COLUMN

LEAVING ON A JET PLANE? BETTER THINK TWICE!

By Wong Ee Lynn <wongeelynn@yahoo.com / gl.mnselangor@yahoo.com>

Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg is one of the growing number of Swedes who avoids air travel because of the aviation industry’s effect on climate change. The social media hashtags #flygskam (flight shame) and #stayontheground encourage travellers to think about the environmental impact and carbon footprint of air travel and to opt for alternatives to flying.

Instead of flying, Greta Thunberg spent 65 hours on a train to travel to Davos, Switzerland, to speak at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting. The train journey emitted only 44 kg of carbon, compared to 262 kg if she had travelled by plane.

Although the flygskam movement has yet to have a significant impact in Malaysia, where being able to travel abroad is a status symbol among the rising middle class, in environmentally-conscious Sweden it has resulted in a drop in air travel of 8% in just one year.

Some facts about air travel:

·         On a measure of CO2 emitted per km travelled, air travel is the most polluting means of transportation with 285 grams of CO2 per passenger / km.

·         Globally, the aviation industry is responsible for roughly 2%-3% of CO2 emissions, but that is rising quickly as more people fly more often.

·         Air travel worldwide is growing at more than 6% a year, outpacing the reduction in per passenger carbon emissions gained from efficiency measures.

·         Every roundtrip transatlantic flight emits enough CO2 to melt 30 sq ft of Arctic sea ice.

·         Not all the environmental impact of air travel comes from the act of flying, as airports themselves have high carbon footprints. All the surrounding infrastructure  -- terminals, runways, ground transportation, maintenance facilities, and shopping centres – uses significant amounts of land, water, energy, and resources.

How has the aviation industry responded?

·         The largest contribution to emissions reduction in aviation comes through technology. The Air Transport Action Group estimates that CO2 emissions per seat kilometre have halved since 1990, and each new generation of aircraft improves fuel efficiency by roughly 15%. Current aircraft models consume an average of 3 litres of fuel per 100 km per seat. According to a 2017 report by the International Council on Clean Transport, Norwegian is the most fuel efficient airline on transatlantic flights.

·         The aviation industry is developing more sustainable fuels that are capable of reducing the industry’s existing carbon footprint by 80%. However, the problem of high price and limited supply remains. The aviation industry maintains that they need the support of governments to build up and promote sustainable fuels, new technology, and more efficient operations.

What can we do, as responsible earth citizens?

·         Support campaigns and initiatives and make air travel more sustainable and equitable. A relatively small percentage of the population is flying much more than the rest, and taxes and levies can be imposed on these frequent flyers.

·         Pay extra to offset emissions by investing in renewable energy projects or planting trees. However, take note that personal and corporate carbon offsetting schemes have been criticised as being excuses for the rich to carry on polluting.

·         Cut down on unnecessary trips and flights.

·         Choose nearer holiday destinations.

·         Make a conscious decision to limit air travel to a maximum of once a year.

·         Consider attending a conference or meeting remotely by video conference or even via a telepresence robot. Experiment with virtual platforms such as Zoom, Connect, and GoToMeeting. The Nearly Carbon Neutral Conference is a fully online conference that has now run several times.

·         If you work for an institution or you are a manager or decision maker in your company, opt to hold fewer conferences, or organise regional hub conferences that convene at multiple regional sites that are linked digitally to one another. Invite speakers to give talks remotely so their talks could be broadcast to audiences around the world at a lower carbon footprint.

·         If you wish to go to a particular destination just to see the sights, consider virtual reality (VR) travel, which is clearly a more sustainable option than flying. VR is increasingly becoming recognised for its potential to give users immersive experiences of real world locations.  

·         Pack light, since the total weight of the aircraft directly affects its fuel consumption. Finnair has calculated that if each passenger were to cut down the weight of their luggage by 5 kg, the total reduction could save the airline almost 17,000 tons of CO2 emissions.

·         Search for flights on websites (such as FlyGRN) that allow you to check what type of aircraft you will be flying on, and that estimate CO2 emissions for the flight. Choose flights offering newer models of aircraft with lower emissions.

·         For domestic destinations, skip air travel. Whenever possible, go for rail and water travel. Despite carrying 75% of world trade, shipping and rail combined produced only 1.75% of greenhouse gas emissions. Road transport produced 10.5%.

·         Choose direct flights. Cut down on internal flights and stopovers. In air travel, most of the carbon release takes place during take-off and landing, so it is even more important to try to cut down on the number of internal flights or stopovers.

·         If you must fly, you could mitigate a tiny fraction of your impact by avoiding flying at night. Dr Piers Forster from Leeds University has discovered that trails of condensation from aircraft, called contrails, have a greater warming effect at night, trapping heat but without reflecting any of the sun's rays back into the atmosphere as they do during the day. Avoid taking winter flights for the same reason. Despite making up just 22% of total annual traffic, winter flights account for more than half of aviation's annual warming effect. Increased humidity creates more problematic persistent contrails. Also, the energy used in one flush of a plane toilet - exacerbated by altitude - is enough for an economical car to run at least 10km, according to Captain Liu Zhiyaun from China Southern airline. So use the airport toilet before you board your plane.

·         Reduce your daily travel impact. Taking public transport, working closer to home, telecommuting, teleconferencing and working from home are all ways in which you could reduce your daily travel impact so you would not feel so guilty about taking a one-off vacation abroad. You can also reduce your overall carbon footprint by going vegetarian or vegan, going carless, reducing your home energy use, and having fewer children.