Clean Energy in the Air
It’s hard to imagine a world in which airplanes, a large source of global greenhouse gas emissions, can possibly run on clean energy.
Fortunately, the proposition is closer to reality than it may seem. Harbour Air, a regional Canadian Airline based in Vancouver, recently embarked on the first ever all-electric flight of a commercial aircraft (Irfan 19). Innovations like these are increasingly important in the global community- as emissions increase worldwide, cutting back on combustible engines can in many ways limit the impact of transportation on climate change.
Among many developed countries like the United States and Canada, transportation remains a large contributor to total emissions. This is harrowing evidence, as growing demands for air travel and airlines’ dependency on non-renewables makes for the International Civil Aviation Organization’s frightening forecast- by 2050 airline emissions could grow by a further 300–700%.
Electrical air travel, problematically, remains a stark logistical challenge. While Harbour Air’s four-minute flight is an exciting representation of what the future of air travel could be, it is not a reflection of what current technologies can do for commercial air travel. Furthermore, aviation regulations which mandate the sky are specifically fit for conventional aircraft running on fossil fuels (Irfan 19). There’s also the problem of battery capacity- all of Harbour Air’s routes are within 30 minutes in length.
Climate change is a crisis- and our constant reliance on dirty energies to travel isn’t making anything better. Although controversial, many environmental advocates suggest cutting out air travel altogether. For example, 16-year-old Greta Thunberg put us all to shame after taking a 2-week, zero-emission boat ride across the Atlantic for her New-York conferences.
Obviously, removing air travel from our globalized world is practically impossible- but role models like Thunberg exemplify what we can do for our planet. If air travel is too important, try carpooling, taking public transport, or riding a bike- simple measures to cut emissions on a local level have clear implications as well.
Global emissions are still growing, and current international climate policy is far off course from meeting the goals set up by the Paris agreement. While removing emissions in things like agriculture and infrastructure require more governmental intervention and have greater effects on the economy, transportation is something that everyone plays a role in, and that everyone is responsible for.
Sources:
European Union. “Reducing Emissions from Aviation.” Climate Action — European Commission, 16 Feb. 2017, ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/transport/aviation_en.
Irfan, Umair. “Aircraft Fuel Is Notoriously Dirty. This Airline Is Betting on Clean Electricity.” Vox, Vox, 18 Dec. 2019, www.vox.com/2019/5/14/18535971/electric-airplane-aircraft-aviation-clean-energy.
Image Rights: Business Insider
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