Carbon dioxide emissions created as a result of human activity are the largest contributers to global warming and climate change. These activites include burning fossil fuels for heat, energy, fuel, and of course, aviation. Not only do airplanes burn fossil fuels for fuel, but they release harmful, warming gases like nitrogen oxides in the form of contrails--water vapor from aircraft exhausts. These gases get caught in the Earth's atmosphere, forming a layer that holds in heat on the Earth's surface. This means that while aviation does contribute to a percentage of carbon emissions, it contributes to an even greater share of overall global warming.
Temperatures from 1975-2000
As can be seen above, the Earth's average surface temperature has been steadily increasing for decades. If these practices of burning nonrenewables are continued, they can have detrimental effects on the environment and world as we know it. While a couple degrees may not seem harmful, just a 2-degree rise in global temperatures is considered a "critical threshold," increasing the likelihood that the environmental impact will be irreversible, causing the collapse of global ice sheets and the death of entire populations of coral reefs. Ultimately, these lead to an increase in the sea-level and the loss of coastal habitats. However, studies show that if enough large companies and contributors take action to lower emissions, these rapidly changing temperatures can be slowed down.
Although global temperatures are subject to increases, there are definitely ways to slow this down and even possibly reverse it. The graph above shows the projected global temperature if emission amounts continue to stay high (lighter green) and the projected temperature if emissions are lowered (darker green). Lower emissions contribute to a drastically lower increase in temperature, a change that could mean life or death or certain species, habitats, and ecosystems. If less harmful gases are released into the atmosphere, we could be looking at a brighter, more environmentally-safe future.