{"id":9875,"date":"2025-08-27T11:59:05","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T09:59:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/?p=9875"},"modified":"2025-08-27T11:59:05","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T09:59:05","slug":"air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Traffic Must Land at Net Zero"},"content":{"rendered":"

Air transport accounts for 2\u20133% of global CO\u2082 emissions, but its climate impact is growing rapidly: emissions from flights could triple in just a few years. The flight shame movement has pushed many to reconsider flying, especially when trains offer a comfortable alternative. Meanwhile, airlines and governments are betting on carbon offsets, regulation, and technological innovation. Among the most promising solutions are sustainable fuels, electric planes for short-haul routes, and hydrogen-powered aircraft for medium-haul flights. Reducing ground emissions also plays a role, and artificial intelligence can help make air traffic more efficient. By 2050, aviation may be ready to meet the Green Deal targets.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The European Green Deal, which aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, is one of the EU\u2019s flagship goals. Net zero means the total amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere must equal the amount removed. Attention is focused in particular on CO\u2082, which accounts for 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n

How Much CO\u2082 Is Attributable to Air Transport<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Several sectors must contribute to reaching the Green Deal goals: energy production (about 35% of emissions), industry (around 20%), agriculture (also about 20%), construction (about 6%), and, of course, transport, which accounts for around 15%.<\/p>\n

Transport\u2019s share is significant, and many firms in the sector have long pursued strategies to reach net zero. Consider, for example, the spread of electric cars\u2014zero CO\u2082 emissions\u2014in the automotive sector, which alone generates about 75% of total transport-related emissions.<\/p>\n

Aviation\u2019s share is much smaller, at 2\u20133% of global emissions, but within transport it rises to about 11\u201312%. These percentages may seem modest, but they are steadily increasing: since 2000, the number of air passengers has more than doubled. The skies have grown ever more crowded\u2014and polluted. According to ICAO, the UN body overseeing civil aviation, without drastic action, aviation emissions could triple by 2050.<\/p>\n

The picture worsens if we consider emissions per passenger: aviation is the most energy-intensive form of transport, far exceeding cars and trains in emissions per kilometer. The inequity is stark from a global perspective: a single short-haul flight (under 1,500 km) in Europe or North America can produce more carbon than the average person\u2019s entire annual footprint in countries like India or Nigeria.<\/p>\n

From Flight Shame<\/em> to Regulation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

All this has fueled the flight shame<\/em> phenomenon: especially in Europe, growing numbers of people, companies, and institutions are choosing to forgo or drastically limit flying, often making their decision public. Driven by environmental activists and figures such as Greta Thunberg, the movement has encouraged many to cut flights and opt for trains, even on long routes.<\/p>\n

Airlines\u2019 response has been swift: many have launched net-zero programs. For instance, when purchasing a ticket directly on an airline\u2019s website or via online travel agencies (like Expedia, Booking, and others), passengers are often invited to pay a surcharge to offset their flight\u2019s environmental impact. Carriers typically indicate the CO\u2082 emissions per passenger and calculate their social cost as a reference.<\/p>\n

Alongside airlines\u2019 initiatives, the aviation sector has long pursued emission reduction strategies built on three pillars: regulation, traffic management, and technological innovation for cleaner aircraft.<\/p>\n

On the regulatory front, several measures are in place. Europe\u2019s Emissions Trading System (ETS) is a long-standing market mechanism based on cap and trade<\/em>: maximum emission thresholds are set and allocated to companies, including airlines. If firms exceed these limits, they must buy additional allowances or face fines. In this way, carriers \u201cpay\u201d for the costs of their emissions.<\/p>\n

At the international level, ICAO has developed CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation), a carbon offsetting system, though its adoption is voluntary between countries.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, France has banned flights on routes where rail travel takes less than two and a half hours, while Austria is considering similar measures.<\/p>\n

Cutting Emissions in the Air and on the Ground<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One promising way to reduce emissions is by improving efficiency in air traffic route management, as well as monitoring ground operations at airports. More direct flight paths, for example, would significantly reduce emissions\u2014consider the extra fuel burned today by flights from Europe to East Asia due to the no-fly zone over Ukraine and Russia.<\/p>\n

Emissions can also be reduced by avoiding flight levels that are too low\u2014where denser air increases drag and fuel use\u2014or too high, which reduce engine thrust. Equally important is minimizing waiting times both in the air and during taxiing on the ground: for short-haul flights, emissions from ground movements can account for up to 10% of the total.<\/p>\n

New Aircraft and New Fuels<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As in the automotive sector, innovation in aviation targets new generations of aircraft that reduce emissions. The latest models\u2014such as Airbus\u2019s A220 and Neo series, Boeing\u2019s 737 Max and Dreamliner\u2014feature more efficient engines and lighter alloys to cut fuel burn.<\/p>\n

Globally, research is advancing into entirely new aircraft and cleaner fuels. The table below shows possible solutions by flight segment, with projected start dates. Key technologies include SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel), an alternative to kerosene made from biomass that can cut emissions by up to 90% compared to current levels; electric motors; hybrid-electric motors (combining electric and hydrogen); and hydrogen-fueled engines.<\/p>\n

SAF is already usable across all flight segments, from short commuter flights (under 60 minutes) to regional, short-, medium-, and long-haul routes. For long-haul\u2014widebody aircraft with two aisles\u2014SAF will remain the only feasible option until 2050. These flights are, and will remain for decades, the sector\u2019s largest emission source (over 30% of the total). Electric and hybrid-electric aircraft are already in operation on very short commuter routes: the latter, similar to hybrid cars, combine combustion and electric engines.<\/p>\n

For electric aircraft, the main challenge is batteries: they are extremely heavy and require long charging times. As a result, their use is projected by 2050 to remain limited to regional routes with medium-capacity planes (50\u2013100 seats) and flight times under 90 minutes.<\/p>\n

A promising alternative is hydrogen-powered aircraft, for example using fuel cells: hydrogen reacts with oxygen to produce electricity for engines, yielding fully electric propulsion without batteries. Airbus is especially active in this area but recently delayed its projected entry into service\u2014originally planned for 2035\u2014by at least 5\u201310 years, citing slow progress in fuel cell development and the lack of a global hydrogen refueling infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Looking Toward 2050<\/strong><\/h3>\n

So, as of 2025, what are aviation\u2019s prospects for cutting emissions and meeting the EU Green Deal\u2019s 2050 targets? The most promising path appears to be the use of new artificial intelligence tools to make air traffic more efficient. Another key element will be developing a global SAF supply network. For routes under 60 minutes, research on electric aircraft offers potential; for medium-haul flights, hopes rest on hydrogen-powered planes. In short, aviation could well be on track to meet its 2050 date with net zero.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gianmaria Martini is Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Bergamo, specializing in transport economics and airport and healthcare efficiency and sustainability. He has led research on CO\u2082 emissions and airport competitiveness.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Air transport accounts for 2\u20133% of global CO\u2082 emissions, but its climate impact is growing rapidly: emissions from flights could triple in just a few […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14329,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[365],"class_list":["post-9875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-non-categorizzato"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAir Traffic Must Land at Net Zero - Rivista Eco<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Air Traffic Must Land at Net Zero - Rivista Eco\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Air transport accounts for 2\u20133% of global CO\u2082 emissions, but its climate impact is growing rapidly: emissions from flights could triple in just a few […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rivista Eco\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-27T09:59:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gianmaria Martini\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gianmaria Martini\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Gianmaria Martini\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bea7f3ebd7face579ad306d730daa770\"},\"headline\":\"Air Traffic Must Land at Net Zero\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-27T09:59:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1163,\"articleSection\":[\"Non categorizzato\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\\\/\",\"name\":\"Air Traffic Must Land at Net Zero - Rivista Eco\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-27T09:59:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bea7f3ebd7face579ad306d730daa770\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/27\\\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Air Traffic Must Land at Net Zero\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Rivista Eco\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bea7f3ebd7face579ad306d730daa770\",\"name\":\"Gianmaria Martini\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/03c4fc6d98b59e536b7497c4aa64d17704fde15c1ef315a093dc354ffeb14086?s=96&d=mm&r=ge390fee44830180a2d749ec70e9c061c\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/03c4fc6d98b59e536b7497c4aa64d17704fde15c1ef315a093dc354ffeb14086?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/03c4fc6d98b59e536b7497c4aa64d17704fde15c1ef315a093dc354ffeb14086?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gianmaria Martini\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/gmartini\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Air Traffic Must Land at Net Zero - Rivista Eco","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Air Traffic Must Land at Net Zero - Rivista Eco","og_description":"Air transport accounts for 2\u20133% of global CO\u2082 emissions, but its climate impact is growing rapidly: emissions from flights could triple in just a few […]","og_url":"http:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\/","og_site_name":"Rivista Eco","article_published_time":"2025-08-27T09:59:05+00:00","author":"Gianmaria Martini","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gianmaria Martini","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\/"},"author":{"name":"Gianmaria Martini","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bea7f3ebd7face579ad306d730daa770"},"headline":"Air Traffic Must Land at Net Zero","datePublished":"2025-08-27T09:59:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\/"},"wordCount":1163,"articleSection":["Non categorizzato"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\/","url":"http:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\/","name":"Air Traffic Must Land at Net Zero - Rivista Eco","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-08-27T09:59:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bea7f3ebd7face579ad306d730daa770"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2025\/08\/27\/air-traffic-must-land-at-net-zero\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Air Traffic Must Land at Net Zero"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/","name":"Rivista Eco","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bea7f3ebd7face579ad306d730daa770","name":"Gianmaria Martini","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/03c4fc6d98b59e536b7497c4aa64d17704fde15c1ef315a093dc354ffeb14086?s=96&d=mm&r=ge390fee44830180a2d749ec70e9c061c","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/03c4fc6d98b59e536b7497c4aa64d17704fde15c1ef315a093dc354ffeb14086?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/03c4fc6d98b59e536b7497c4aa64d17704fde15c1ef315a093dc354ffeb14086?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Gianmaria Martini"},"url":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/author\/gmartini\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14329"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9875"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9879,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9875\/revisions\/9879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9875"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=9875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}