Airlines Could Cut Emissions in Half Without Taking Half the Planes out of the Sky

[eridani]

http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/11/23/airlines-could-cut-half-their-greenhouse-gas-carbon-dioxide-pollution-climate?cmpid=tpdaily-eml-2015-11-23-Rhino

Airlines could cut that pollution by 50 percent below 2012 levels in the next 35 years, and at low cost, with a combination of design updates, better air traffic management, and adoption of plant-based alternatives to traditional jet fuel, according to research published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.

The reduction would come despite the industry’s projected growth rate of 1.5 percent per year, according to study coauthor Andreas W. Schafer, because taken together, the measures would increase fuel efficiency and lower the amount of fuel used for every mile a passenger flies.

The study’s release overlaps with an international gathering this week in Montreal, called the World Aviation Forum, at which business, nongovernmental groups, and government officials are supposed to discuss the industry’s economic prospects and environmental challenges.